I can be your Hero
by Katydid1
Summary: A HG fic with some RH. It takes place in Harry's 5th yr through post Hogwarts. It will be mostly romance with some action. In Harry's 7th YR, during a duel with Voldemort, Harry has to decide who's life he values more, his own, or Ginny's.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, It belongs to J.K.Rowling. Only the story line is mine.  
So please don't sue me. Thank you.  
  
Pleeeeeeeaaaaase review after you read it!! I would REALLY appreciate it!! thanx!  
  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"It is time, Wormtail, send them out."  
  
"bbbut master, it is ssso early!"  
  
"I am aware of the time, Wormatail. Are you questioning me?"  
  
"nnno, master, I was just-I mmmean-yyyes, master..I will send them nnnow."  
  
The stooping figure bowed low, then turned and started toward the door.  
  
"Wormtail!" called the harsh, rasping voice. "yyyyes, mmmaster?" came the reply from the figure at the  
door. "Tell them if they fail, they will be punished." A shiver ran the the dark, shadowy figure as he   
answered "it will be as you wwwish, mmaster".  
Then he bowed low, still trembling, and turned to scamper out of the room.  
  
The figure sitting in the arm chair smiled, his red eyes glowing. "Finally. After all these years. I will be  
rid of the Potter boy!" He said, his voice rich with ecstasy. Then the smile turned into a harsh, evil  
laugh. The awful sound of it filled the room, and echoed back from the dark, shadowy corners.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
"NNNNNNOOOO!!!"  
  
Harry Potter sat up with a jump, sweat streaming down his forehead. He breath was quick and heavy.  
He laid back down with a sigh. "Just another nightmare." He whispered to himself. His scar was   
hurting with a sharp, familiar pain. He traced it idely with his fingers. He tried to remember the   
details of the dream, but already they were turning vague. Wormtail had been there, and another man   
who was undoubtedly voldemort. A shiver ran through him as he remembered his cold, harsh laugh. But   
as hard as he tried, he couldn't remember what they had been talking about.   
  
Harry looked up at his alarm clock. It was only 3:10 in the morning. He wiped the sweat off his face and  
tried to relax. But he kept hearing that laugh in his head. And then suddenly he heard another sound.  
It sounded like footsteps downstairs. For a second, panic seized him. But he reasoned with himself that  
it was probably just Dudley getting a midnight snack. But his nerves wouldn't listen to his head. He  
kept jumping when he heard the creaking. "Come on, Harry, your being paranoid." He said, more to fill  
the silence than anything. "OK, I'll just go down there and prove to myslef that it's just Dudley, so then   
at least I will be able to sleep." He decided.  
  
So as quietly as he could, he slipped down off his bed and crept slowly to the door. As he was passing  
his desk, he saw his wand laying on it and grabbed it, "just in case" he told himself. He opened the door  
slowly, willing it to not creak. He tried not to think what would happent to him if he woke the Dursleys  
up at 3:30 in the morning.  
  
He made his way downstairs, and then into the kitchen. No Dudley. But he forced himself not to panic.   
"probably just my imagination" he told himself, but to little effect.  
  
Suddenly he felt a hand come from behind him and cover his mouth. He tried to scream but the hand   
muffled the sound.  
  
"Is it him?" asked a low, deep voice. "I dunno" came the answer from directly behind him. Suddenly   
Harry remembered the conversation from his dream. These me were sent from Voldemort. They were   
here to kill him, Harry. Fear gripped him and he wasn't sure how much longer he could hold his dinner   
down. "lumos" the first voice murmered, and the room was suddenly  
lit with a weak, pale light. The man holding the wand that was casting the light stepped in front of   
Harry and held his wand close to his face. "yup, that's him alright" he said with an evil grin. Harry   
recognized the man and his voice. It was Lucius Malfoy. Harry struggled to free himself from the man  
holding him, but the Death Eater had a very tight grip.   
  
Then Harry remembered his wand. It was in his hand. Malfoy and the other man   
hadn't noticed it. With a silent, swift move he raised it and yelled "pushios!" and Malfoy went flying   
back-wards into the wall. Taking advantage of the other man's temporary shock, Harry pushed out of   
his arms and ran. He ran into the kitchen. "the portkey" he whispered to himself. When Harry left   
Hogwarts after his 4th year Dumbledore told him that he would set up a portkey at his house "for safety   
reasons", he had said. It was a muggle toaster. But unlike most port keys, it would operate like a  
normal muggle toaster until you spoke the incantation. you did not have to use it at a certain   
time, you simply said "transportia" when you wanted it to work. The only problem was, Harry hadn't   
asked Dumbledore where it would take him. "Oh well," thought Harry. "No time for that now" Harry   
raced to the kitchen, grabbed the toaster, and bolted towards the stairs, the two Deather Eaters right at  
his back.  
  
Harry stopped when he reached his aunt and uncle's bedroom door. He turned around and screamed  
"paroliosis!!" The two men were frozen, but Harry knew it wouldn't last long. He turned into the room,  
slamming the door behind him and quickly put a locking charm on the door.  
  
Dudley and his Aunt and Uncle were already awake from the comotion that Harry and the Death  
Eaters had caused downstairs. They were cowering against the bedroom wall, huddled together. Harry  
bolted to them and huridly ordered them to all put their hands on the toaster. They just stood there,   
frozen, and looked at him like he had lost his mind. He could see the fear and confusion shining in their  
eyes. "FOR ONCE WILL YOU JUST LISTEN TO ME AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE TOASTER?!"  
He screamed. They immediately did as Harry said. Outside the door he heard the unlocking charm   
being put on the door. Before he could panic he screamed "portio!" and he felt the familiar pull at his   
stomach as the room started spinning.  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
  
ok, I don't know if I like that or not. But hey, I did my best. I already have the whole story laid out in my   
head so it probably won't take me too long to get the next chapter up. Oh, and don't worry. The romance   
will be here soon. PLEASE Review!! It means a lot to me, people!! : )  
  
-"I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!!!"- 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I wish I did. But I don't. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
Hi! Ok, here's chapter 2. sorry it took me a while to get it up. I had a really busy weekend. A BIG thank  
  
you to all those who reviewed! I hope you like this next chapter!  
  
For those who were nice enough to review:  
  
la2ru2a-thank you for the encouragement! I really appreciate it.  
  
hpfanficlover07-Thanks 4 reviewing! I would read your story but I don't read anything besides g or pg.  
  
Sorry!  
  
Julephenia-How could I forget Ginny? Here she is!  
  
katie bell-thank you so much! I don't think I have talent but it's fun to write.  
  
celeste-Thanks for reviewing! yes, I know, the spells I made up were very corny. But i didn't feel like  
  
spending an hour trying to think up some cool spells when it really wasn't that crucial to the story. If you  
  
can think of some better ones I'll change it for you. there's some romance in this chapter, but the farther  
  
into the story you go the more romance there will be.  
  
kourtnie-thanks! I'll try to update new chapters asap.  
  
bucky- thank you! I'll try to update quickly.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 2  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
When the spinning finally stopped Harry stood for a while waiting for the dizziness to go away. When it  
  
finaly left he opened his eyes to find himslef in the Weasley's living room. After making sure the  
  
Dursley's were all there (A/N:though I'm not sure why he cared after the way they treated him), he  
  
started up the stairs, trying to remember which room was Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's. He found one that he  
  
thought he remembered Mrs. Weasley coming out of one, and decided to try it. He opened it slowly,  
  
and after his eyes adjusted to the dark room, he walked slowly towards the bed on the right side of the  
  
room. As he got closer to the bed he saw a burst of flame-red hair lying on the pillow. That  
  
meant it was either Mrs. Weasley or Ginny, unless Percy grew his hair out over the summer. The figure  
  
on the bed turned over slowly. It was Ginny. Harry winced and was about to turn to go  
  
try another door when he noticed something that took him by surprise. Ginny Weasley looked....  
  
well.....pretty. The dim morning light peaking through the blinds shimmred on her bright hair. Just  
  
looking at her made his knees go weak. After he stood there staring for about 5 minutes he realized what  
  
he was doing and as quickly as he could without waking her, he left the room.  
  
He tried another door, and this time it was the right one. He felt a little nervous about waking them up, it  
  
wasn't exactly polite to barge into someone's home at who know's what time, then wake them up  
  
and tell them he has 4 people who need somewhere to stay. But the Weasley's had always accepted  
  
him into their home without hesitation, despite their limited funds of money, so he didn't see why they  
  
wouldn't now.  
  
So as softly as he could he began shaking Mr. Weasley on the shoulder. His eyes immediatly  
  
popped open, which was a little freaky. Harry guessed Mr. Weasley must get emergency calls in the  
  
middle of the night a lot to be able to wake up that quickly. "Harry??" Mr. Weasley murmered while  
  
trying to fumble his glasses onto his face. Now that Mr. Weasley was awake Harry realized that he had  
  
no idea how to explain what had just happened. "uuhh..hi Mr. Weasley." Mrs. Weasley was awake by  
  
now, too. She had a "am I dreaming?" kind of look on her face. "I'm really sorry to wake you up like this  
  
but some Death Eater's attacked Privet Drive and-" Harry didn't even have to continue on about the port-  
  
key. He guessed Dumbledore had already told them he had put it there. Mrs. Weasley was suddenly  
  
very wide awake. "Oh my! You poor thing! Are you alright? Arthur, you must inform the ministry and  
  
Dumbledore at once! oh you poor dear! Where are your relatives?" She said while pulling on her bath  
  
robe. "uh, they're fine." Harry said, a little unsure of himself, even after that welcome. "Well  
  
come on downstairs dear and we'll get you fixed up" she said as she put a hand on Harry's back to lead  
  
him down stairs, Mr. Weasley following behind them looking a bit bewildered and confused.  
  
When they got downstairs they saw all three of the Dursleys huddled together looking very frightened,  
  
confused, and, (in Dudley's case) hungry. "oh you poor things!" said Mrs. Weasley. "you must be  
  
scared stiff! well, I assure you, you are now safely out of harms way. Please have a seat while we sort  
  
this whole thing out." The Dursleys looked hesitant to do anything Mrs. Weasley asked them to, but  
  
Dudley didn't look like he could hold his bulky self up much longer so they complied.  
  
"All right then." said Mr. Weasley after Mrs. Weasley went to make a pot of tea. He took out a white  
  
powdery substance, threw it in the fire, and said "Ablus Dumbledore" in a clear voice. (A/N: I wasn't  
  
sure how they did the face-in-the-fire thing in the books so i just kinda copied the floo-powder thing)  
  
After a few seconds Albus Dumbledore's face appeared in the fire. He looked more old and tired than  
  
Harry had ever seen him, and the usual sparkle in his eyes was missing. Harry was used to seeing  
  
faces pop up in fires,, but it was quite a shock for the Dursleys. Dudley in particular.  
  
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!" he screamed. Mr. and Mrs. Dursleys both had  
  
shocked looks on their faces, their mouths hanging wide open. "what in the world?" asked  
  
Dumbledore with a confused look on his face. "AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Dudley  
  
screamed again. Suddenly the room was filled with red-heads. Dudley's screams had woken  
  
up the entire Weasley family (minus Bill and Charlie). Harry was suddenly very glad he had worn his  
  
pajama pants and a t-shirt to sleep that night and not his boxers. He saw Ginny looking very conused  
  
and sleepy. It hadn't just been  
  
the light on her hair, she still looked beautiful, even in her scond-hand bath robe and her flaming hair  
  
slightly ruffled. "stop staring at her, she'll see you and think you like her or something" Harry told  
  
himslef. Harry blushed when he realized, that he DID like her. "When did that happen?" He thought. It  
  
wasn't easy, but he forced himself to look away from her.  
  
pretty soon everything was in complete chaos. All the Weasley kids were yelling questions, each trying  
  
to be heard over the others. And it didn't help matters much when Ron, on his way over to Harry,  
  
smacked right into Mrs. Weasley, who was just coming back from the kitchen with the pot of tea. She  
  
dropped the tea pot and it shattered all over the floor, the spilt tea staining the carpet. She cleaned it  
  
up quickly with a simple spell, but Aunt Petunia didn't take that too well. She covered Dudley's eyes,  
  
and fainted. Uncle Vernon didn't like that too much, and stood up and started screaming at Mr.  
  
Weasley about 'you maniac red heads', his face turning beet red. Aunt Petunia woke up, but Uncle  
  
Vernon kept on screaming. Mr. Weasley was trying to calm Uncle Vernon down, but without any  
  
success. Dumbldore mearly looked on with interest. "SIT DOWN, ALL OF YOU!!" screamed Mr.  
  
Weasley. Everyone immediatly sat down. "okay, Harry just arrived here and told us that Privet Drive was  
  
attacked by Death Eaters. That's about all I know. So Harry's going to tell us the rest of the story now."  
  
With that he plopped in the nearest arm chair looking exremely exhausted.  
  
Harry then told them about the dream and the Deather Eater's attack and the port key. When he was  
  
finished everyone was silent for a few minutes.Then Dumbldore said "I'll send someone to Privet Drive  
  
immediatly to survey the damage and retrieve your  
  
crucial belongings. Voldemort must have found a counter-curse for the spell I put around the house.  
  
I will put another one up as soon as possible." Mr. Weasley nodded approvingly, but Unlce Vernon  
  
didn't seem too thrilled. "There was a spell on my house? You put a spell on my house?" He was  
  
standing up again and wasn't looking very happy. "it was neccessary for the safety of you and you  
  
family." Dumbledore attempted to reason. "If it wasn't for that spell those men would have gotten into  
  
your house long ago. You need not worry, I will put up another spell that can not be penetrated, for the  
  
present." But Uncle Vernon wasn't buying it. "IF IT WASN'T FOR THAT BLOODY BOY NO BODY  
  
WOULD WANT TO 'PENETRATE' OUR HOUSE!!!" He screamed, his face now purple. "Mr. Dursley,  
  
you may take a seat." Dumbldore said in an icy voice much more threatening than if he had screamed it.  
  
The fire was back in his eyes, and he was staring at Uncle Vernon with a 'or else' look on his face.  
  
Uncle Vernon was no match for Dumbledore. He immediatly plopped heavily back on the couch, his  
  
expression of anger turned to fear. "thank you." Dumbldore said. He was suddenly a tired  
  
old man again. "Now, I assure you that this incident was in no way Harry's fault. After all, he saved you,  
  
did he not?" Asked Dumbledore. Uncle Vernon didn't reply."Allright then. Now that that's settled, my  
  
men just returned and they report that there is no damage done to the house. However, I  
  
would advise that you not return until after I have finished putting up the new protection. I will send  
  
your things over to you now." suddenly 4 large trunks appeared on the living room floor. Harry  
  
recognized one of them as his. Aunt Petunia turned very white when they appeared, but didn't  
  
faint again. "I am sure Molly and Arthur will not mind housing you until the operation is completed."  
  
continued Dumbledore. Mrs. Weasley did not look too ecstatic about this, but none the less she agreed.  
  
"No." said Uncle Vernon firmly. "I refuse to stay with these lunatics. You can't make me."  
  
Dumbledore sighed and said "No. No, I can't. Is there someone else who you could stay with for a time?"  
  
he asked. "yes, my sister, Marge." Uncle Vernon answered. "Very well then. how soon would you like to  
  
leave?" asked Dumbldore, looking more tired than ever. "immediatly" replied Uncle Vernon  
  
firmly, with a shifty glance at Mr. Weasley. "all right. I will send a muggle cab for you now."  
  
Dumbledore complied. "uh, Mr. Dursley,  
  
Would you mind if Harry stayed with us for the rest of the summer? I assure you we will take good care  
  
of him." said Mr. Weasley. Harry felt a huge surge of gratitude towards Mr. Weasley. He did NOT want  
  
to spend the rest of his holiday with the Dursleys and 'Aunt' Marge. "Sure, whatever." was Uncle  
  
Vernon's careless reply. Harry felt like shouting for joy. Even though his house had just been  
  
attacked by Deather Eater's he couldn't help but feel happy. The Weasley's and Hogwarts were the only  
  
places where he ever felt as if he had a family, as if he had a home. He would spend the rest of the  
  
holiday with Ron. "And," he thought, "with Ginny."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~  
  
  
  
ok, there's chap. #2. There will be more romance the farther into the story you go. Sorry I didn't do the  
  
paragraph's too well but I didn't feel like bothering about it. I know this chapter is pretty long but there  
  
wasn't really a good stopping point for a while. Thanks so much for reading! Reviews are greatly  
  
appreciated!!  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. All of these characters belong to J.K. Rowling.  
  
For last times reviewers:  
  
Julephenia- Thank you for your support! Yes, he likes Ginny. I hope JK hooks them up together in the next book! They go so well together!  
  
bucky- Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm a little disapointed with the way this story is turning out, but i think it will get better as it goes  
  
along.  
  
la2ur2a- Thank you so much! Yes, it is wonderful to have ppl support me. People like you!! : ) I'm gonna go read your stories after I post this  
  
chapter.  
  
  
  
Chapter 3  
  
**************************************************************************** *********************************  
  
It wasn't long before the muggle taxi arrived to take the Dursleys to Aunt Marge. Uncle Vernon stamped out of the house dragging Dudley  
  
behind him, and completely ignoring Mrs. Weasley when she said "I hope you enjoy the rest of you holiday!" But Aunt Petunia, who was  
  
walking behind Uncle Vernon, stopped when she reached Harry. She stood there looking at him for a few minutes, looking as if she was thinking  
  
very hard about something. "I never understood you mother." She said suddenly. "Even before her abnormality was recognized. She was  
  
always so wild, and free. Yet no matter now independant she was, she always found a way to be there for me when I needed her." She stood for  
  
a moment longer in silence. "You have her eyes, you know." She looked like she was about to say more, but Uncle Vernon leaned over the taxi  
  
driver and honked the horn, obviously telling her to hurry. She turned and walked briskly to the cab. As soon as she was in, it was off down the  
  
road. "I'll never understand that family." Mrs. Weasley said with a sigh. But it seemed to Harry that what Aunt Petunia had been trying to say  
  
was, thank you.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Pretty soon everyone was sitting down to breakfast, except Mr. Weasley, who had gone to work already. "Ron, since Harry is staying for the  
  
rest of the summer, why don't you ask Hermione to come, too." suggested Mrs. Weasley. Ron turned a bright shade of pink, then shrugged,  
  
trying to look casual, but failing. Harry had always known that Ron had like Hermione just a little, but now it was really obvious. "Sure, I'll write  
  
her today." he said in a 'trying too hard to sound careless' voice. George snorted into his cereal, and Fred slapped him on the back, really hard.  
  
George then flipped a cheerio at Fred, who ducked. "Wow Harry," Fred said. "It sounds like you may become the 'third weel' in your little trio  
  
pretty sooon." Harry just smiled. Ron got up and stormed up the stairs. "Don't tease him, Fred, you know you've had your number of crushes."  
  
Mrs. Weasley scolded.  
  
Harry got up and followed Ron up the stairs. When he got into Ron's room, he saw Ron sitting at his desk, hard at work on the letter for  
  
Hermione. Harry smiled. He went and sat down on Ron's bed, watching his quil scratch across the paper, trying to think how to best aproach  
  
this. He really didn't see any good way, though. "Have you told her?" He asked suddenly. Ron looked up from the paper and stared at Harry.  
  
He turned pink again, but said "Told who what?" Harry sighed. Ron could be so stubborn sometimes. Ron got up and tied the finished letter to  
  
Pig's foot. "Give this to Hermione." He said. The owl flew out the window and Ron watched it until it was out of sight. "You wanna go play  
  
Quiddith?" Harry asked, since it was obvious Ron wasn't in the mood to talk about Hermione. "Sure." Ron shrugged, and walked over to get his  
  
broom from the closet.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ginny watched Harry, Ron, Fred and George play Quidditch from her bedroom window. She sighed as she saw Harry make yet another  
  
spectacular dive and catch the golf ball easliy in his hand. Harry has only been here for one day, and already she didn't know how much longer  
  
she could do this. It was hard enough to live away from Harry, but it was even harder to live with him and know that he doesn't think of her as  
  
anything except a little sister. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she brushed them away angrily. "Why can't I get over him?" She thought to  
  
herself. All summer she had been trying not to to think about him, but that had only seemed to make things even worse. "Ginny!" She heard her  
  
mom call. She quickly wiped the remaining tears from her face and went down stairs to see what she was wanted for.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hermione wrote back after a few days saying that she would be able to come in two weeks. Ron tried very hard to control his excitment, but  
  
Harry could see it. Harry had a hard time controling himslef, too. Not about Hermione, but about Ginny. Whenever he was in a room with her  
  
(which was quite a lot because it's hard to live in the same house with someone and not see each other every once in a while) His knees would  
  
go weak and he'd find it very hard to stop staring at her. Another thing that troubled him was that she seemed to be over him. She no longer  
  
broke things or spoke unevenly when he was around, like she used to. Did that mean she was no longer interested in him? Or just that she had  
  
learned to control herself ? Harry wasn't sure, but he could hardly sleep at night worrying about it.  
  
**************************************************************************** *********************************  
  
  
  
I know, I know, that was very, very short. But I felt that the last chapter was a little boring and I wanted to get this part out of the way before  
  
the next chapter, which is one of my favorite chapters in this whole story. If ya'll aren't too busy, I would appreciate it if ya'll read my other story  
  
that I just put up, too. Thank you! R/R!  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~  
  
p.s. If you haven't seen the Lord of The Rings movie, you need to. I've seen it 3 times. Frodo is sssoooo cute. : ) 


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does.  
  
For the reviewers of chapter 3:  
  
Pick a Brick 00:  
  
Thanks for your review! I'm glad you agree with me about Frodo, my sister actually thinks Legolas is hotter!! I worry about her sometimes.  
  
Anyway, I'm gonna try really hard to finish this story, IF people like it enough, that is. : )  
  
la2ur2a: Your stories were really good! Thank you so much for all your support, if it wasn't for people like you I don't think I'd keep on writing.  
  
Thanks!!  
  
Julephenia: They talk a bit in this chapter, but not about anything serious. Yes, there is some R/H coming up soon. I'm glad you liked the Aunt  
  
Petunia thing, I wasn't sure if anyone would like that or not, but I did. Oh, I started to read your story but it got a little too un-PG for me. It  
  
looked pretty good, though! Anyway, Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Lee Velviet: Thanks for your review! I read a few of your stories (wow! you've got a bunch of them!) and they were really good! I think I  
  
reviewed them for you. Can't remember. Anyway, thanks for all your encouragement! : )  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
**************************************************************************** *********************************  
  
  
  
Harry lay awake on his pallet in Ron's room. The clock on the night stand said 1:25 in the morning. He couldn't get to sleep. It was now a week  
  
after The Dursley's had left, and Harry thought that it was probably the best week of his life. He felt so at home with the Weasley's. He thought  
  
that this must be how it felt to have a real family. He smiled in the darkness, and instantly fell asleep.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Suddenly the bedroom door opened. Harry could see the outline of a tall, cloaked figure. Harry lay terrified, he tried to get up but found that  
  
his muscles no longer worked properly. The figure walked inside slowly, it's features completely covered by a dark hood, but you could see red  
  
eyes glowing from underneath it. Harry felt a cold shiver run down his spine, and suddenly his scar was burning. Burning like it never had  
  
before. Then the figure laughed, a laugh that was embeded into Harrys' mind, a laugh that he would always rememer. He covered his face with  
  
his arms as the figure raised it's wand, but nothing happened. When he lowered his arms, he was no longer in Ron's bed room. He was standing  
  
in a graveyard. As far as he could see, all there were was tombstones, half way covered by the low fog. Harry screamed, only he couldn't hear  
  
himself. It seemed as if the fog were choking out his voice. As he focused his eyes, he saw a figure standing next to him. Suddenly, out of the  
  
fog came a voice. It whispered the words Harry had heard over and over again in his nightmares, "Kill the spare." The figure next to him  
  
dropped, falling heavily to the ground. Harry looked down at him, he saw cold, grey eyes staring blankly into the fog. It was Cedric. Harry  
  
backed up, not able to take his eyes off the cold, life less body. Then he turned and ran. As he ran the grey tombstones dissapeared and tall,  
  
creaky trees took their place. Harry shivered as he looked up at them. He passed a small clearing and as he looked into it he saw a stag lying  
  
motionless in a pool of blood. Harry felt his stomach lurch. Suddenly the trees disapeared, and Harry was standing in a nursery. There were  
  
stars and moons painted on the wall, and Harry felt and odd sense of having been there before. He saw a young woman standing in front of the  
  
crib. She held her hands out to Harry, an intense longing in her eyes, tears flowing down her cheeks. Harry reached for her, but just as he was  
  
about to touch her hand, A cold voice shouted "Avada Kedavra!" in almost a careless tone, and pale, green light surrounded the woman. . For  
  
a few seconds the woman's eyes were sad and hopeless, then they turned vague and unseeing as she fell to the ground "NNNOO!!" Harry  
  
screamed. Then the nursery vanished, and he was standing alone by a lake, the sky all around black as midnight. From what he could see it  
  
looked like he was standing on the Hogwarts grounds. Suddenly he felt a familiar shiver run through him, and his very blood seemed to turn  
  
cold. He whirled around and met what he knew would be there. A Dementor. It was gliding slowly towards Harry, it's face completly shadowed,  
  
it's rotting, scabby hands stretched towards Harry. Harry wanted to run, wanted to scream, wanted to do something, anything. But he was  
  
frozen by the Dementors out-stretched hands, by it's slow, raspy breathe that seemed to wash over him and melt his insides. Soon The cold  
  
hands were wrapped around Harry's neck, he could feel it's icy breathe on his face. The Dementor leaned forward slowly. As soon as it's mouth  
  
touched Harry's he felt as if he was melting, falling, dying. It was a pain so strange and intense, it was 10 times worse than the cruciatus curse.  
  
Harry tried to scream but he felt suffocated as well. He knew somewhere in the back of his mind he should try to force the Dementor off,  
  
struggle to get free of it's icy grip, but soon that part of his mind was gone, and all that was left was despair. Nothing mattered anymore. No one  
  
mattered anymore. Harry felt himslef falling, but he didn't care. It didn't matter, anyway.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harry awoke in the same state as he had the week before. Sweat drenching his pajamas, his scar burning even worse than last time. He reached  
  
for his glasses and clumsily fumbled them onto his face. 1:35, Ron's clock said. Harry sighed, only 10 minutes had passed since he had been  
  
awake. It had seemed like a lifetime. Harry shivered as he remembered the details of his dream. He tried to block the vivid memory of those cold,  
  
icy hands, of his mother's face looking at him with such longing, such love, before she crumpled to the ground. Harry knew he wouldn't be able  
  
to sleep anymore tonight. He got up from the floor and walked over to the door, trying not to wake Ron.  
  
When he reached the living room, he was about to go into the kitchen and get himslef a cup of water, when he noticed someone sitting on the  
  
couch. It was Ginny. She was reading a book. Harry couldn't help but smile at the totally absorbed look on her face. She was so beautiful. He  
  
felt the familiar weakness in his knees as he looked at her."Hey." He said as he went and sat by her on the couch. She looked up from her book  
  
with a surprised expression on her face. "Hi, Harry." She said as she put the book down on the coffe table. "What are you doing up?" She  
  
asked. For a moment Harry thought about telling her he had just come down for a drink of water, which was parly the truth. But he didn't want to  
  
lie to Ginny, ever. "I had another nightmare." He said, staring in to the fire. Only instead of seeing the flames flickering in the dim light, instead  
  
he saw the stag from his dream, lying in a pool of blood. Harry shivered as he looked back at Ginny. She was looking at him with a strange  
  
expression on her face, but before Harry could see what it was, she erased it and said. "oh, I'm sorry." in that soft voice of hers that Harry new  
  
so well. He smiled at her. "It's ok. I feel better already." Which was definitly the truth. Just being in Ginny's prescence made him almost forget all  
  
about the details of his nightmare. Almost. "What are you reading?" Harry asked. More to change the subject than actually being interested.  
  
Ginny picked up her book and held it up so that Harry could see the cover. "Jane Eyre." She said. "It's a muggle book, but it's still very good."  
  
Harry nodded. Ginny seemed like the kind of person who liked to read. Ginny put the book back down.  
  
They talked for a few minutes about different things, Quidditch, Hogwarts, and how they both knew that Ron liked Hermione but is too scared  
  
and/or embarrassed to say so. After a few minutes of this sort of conversation, Ginny asked "Do you want to play a game?" "Sure." Harry  
  
answered. "Exploding Snap ok?" she asked as she stood up. "yup" Harry said with a smile. So Ginny went to her room and brought back her  
  
exploding snap cards. Harry suddenly thought maybe Ginny wanted to go to bed but was staying up so he wouldn't be alone. "Hey, you can  
  
go to bed if you want to, you don't have to stay up because of me." He said, even though he wanted Ginny to stay with him more than  
  
anything. "Oh, no, I'm not tired and this is fun." She answered. "Unless, you want to be alone....." She said hesistantly. "No, no, I don't." Harry  
  
answered quickly. Ginny smiled. "Okay then." she said as she started to set up the game.  
  
As they played Harry was shocked to find that this was the most fun he had ever had in his life. Playing exploding snap with Ginny even beat  
  
Quidditch, Which was saying a lot. Doing anything with Ginny beat Quidditch. They laughed together every time someone's eye brows got  
  
singed. "Ginny is so easy to have fun with!" Harry thought to himself. After a while he found himself forgetting all about Voldemort, all about  
  
his nightmare, all about his parents. All he could see or think about was Ginny and how pretty she looked when she laughed, even with singed  
  
eye brows. Just looking at her made him want to laugh, too.  
  
When Harry looked up at the clock over the fire place he was shocked to see it was already 5:20. It hadn't seemed like that much time at all. He  
  
wasn't even tired, but as much as he wanted to stay with Ginny, Harry knew he should go to bed now. "Well I guess we'd better go to bed  
  
now." He said aloud. Ginny nodded with a yawn. They headed up the stairs together, and as Ginny turned into her room she muttered "G'night,  
  
Harry." While yawning. Harry smiled at her. "Good night, Ginny." He whispered. He wanted more than anything to put his arms around her and  
  
hold her close to him. He didn't want to leave her. But he forced himself to turn and walk up the remaining steps to Ron's room. He heard  
  
Ginny's bedroom door close behind him. He sighed as he opened Ron's door and returned to his pallet.  
  
He dreamed again that night, only this time it wasn't a nightmare about Voldemort, or Dememtors. This time it was a dream, a dream about a  
  
certain red-headed girl. Harry smiled in his sleep.  
  
  
  
**************************************************************************** *********************************  
  
  
  
Hello everyone! I'm soooo sorry it took me soooo long to get this chapter up! I've been really busy. I kinda like this chapter, and I'm sorry if you  
  
think the dream is weird, it's just all of Harry's scariest memories put together. Anyway, if you haven't read my other story yet, please do!!  
  
I'm also thinking about putting up a Lily & James romance fic soon, but it'll have to wait till I'm a bit less busy. My motivation to keep writing  
  
comes from your (yes, this means YOU) reviews, so pleeeaase review!! Your support means a whole lot to me!! Thanks and God Bless! : )  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~  
  
p.s. Oh yeah, if you read & review my stories, I'll read & review yours, as long as they're either G or PG. 


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling.  
  
To my nice, kind, and wonderful reviewers:  
  
SeaS:  
  
Thank you! I think I will try a Lily & James, but it'll have to be after school gets out cuz I'm too busy as it is.  
  
Bucky:  
  
Thanks for reviewing! Ron notices how weird Harry is acting in this chapter.  
  
Daphne Black:  
  
I read your fics and they were reallly awsesome! Keep up the good work! Thanks for reading my story!!  
  
la2ur2a:  
  
Thanks! I read the next chapter of your story & I really liked it. Good job!  
  
Julephenia:  
  
Hehe. That's ok. The part I read was still very well writen. Thank you so much for all of your support!  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
  
  
****************  
  
Harry was amazed at how quickly two weeks passed by. He was glad that Ginny had decided not to tell her parents about his  
  
dream, the Weasley's had enough to worry about with both Harry and Hermione there. Hermione had been at the Weasley's for a week already  
  
and still Ron had made no 'progress' with her whatsoever.  
  
Harry was going up to Ron's room after practicing some Quidditch one day when he heard soft music, and it sounded like it was  
  
coming fom Ginny's room. It was beautiful. After he listened for a moment he recognized it as the Moon Light Sonota. He cracked open her  
  
door to look, and he saw Ginny sitting on a bench in front of an old, worn out piano. Her fingers were moving quickly and gracefully on the  
  
yellow keys. He felt that somehow the music was pulling at his soul, wrapping around him and embracing him. For some reason it made him  
  
think of his parents, of the happy life he could have led, had they lived. When the song ended he was surprised to feel hot tears on his cheeks.  
  
He quickly turned and ran up to Ron's room before Ginny saw him.  
  
When he reached Ron's room, he found Ron laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling with a far-away look in his eyes. "Probably thinking about  
  
Hermione." Harry thought to himself. He plopped down in a chair by Ron's desk, still thinking about Ginny's song and the way it made him  
  
feel. "I didn't know Ginny could play the piano." He said aloud as he heard another song start, the sound muffled through the wall. Ron nodded.  
  
"Yeah, she can play really well. She's just really shy about it for some reason and doesn't like playing in front of anyone except family. The only  
  
reason she's playing now is because she thinks you're outside playing Quidditch." Harry thought about this for a few minutes, but then seeing  
  
the far-away look on Ron's face again, he decided to change the subject. "You'll have to tell her sometime, you know." He said. This time Ron  
  
didn't act as if he had no clue what Harry was talking about, he just sighed. Harry took this as a good sign. "Why don't you just tell her?" He  
  
asked. Ron looked away from the ceiling and right into Harry's eyes. "Why don't you?" Ron asked. Harry was confused. "Me tell Hermione that  
  
you like her?"He asked. "No, no, tell whoever you like that you like her." He said matter-of-factly. This took Harry by surprise. "What? Who?  
  
How do you know?" He asked all at once. Ron laughed at his best friend. "You're even worse than me!" He laughed. "Who is it, harry? I know  
  
you like someone. I can tell by the way you stare off into space when you think no one's looking. I just don't know who it is. Come on, I'm your  
  
bloody best friend, you can tell me." He said as he propped himself up on his elbows, his eyes sparkling as he smiled at Harry. Harry blushed.  
  
This conversation wasn't turning out like he had planned. They were supposed to be talking about Ron's love life, not his. Ron  
  
laughed again. "Is it Lavender? Parvati? Come on, tell me!" "I'm not going to tell you." Harry said firmly. And he meant it, too. Ron frowned.  
  
"Why not? I won't tell anyone." Harry sighed. "It's just, I mean, I'm not exactly sure how you'll take it." He said hesitantly. He was afraid Ron  
  
might not like the idea of his best friend 'fancying' his little sister. Ron looked really confused, now. Suddenly Harry got an idea. "If I tell you  
  
who I like, will you tell Hermione how you feel about her?" He asked, a sly grin spreading across his face. Ron looked surprised at first, but  
  
then looked as if he was actually considering it. "Okay, deal." He said as he reached out and shook Harry's hand. "Now who is it." Harry's smile  
  
disapeared instantly. He really didn't know how Ron would take this. He took a deep breathe. "It's Ginny." He said, sounding like he was  
  
currently undergoing torture. There was a few minutes of silence, during which Ron looked completely shocked, and Harry didn't know how  
  
Ron was taking it because he was staring hard at a piece of dust on the floor.  
  
After the shock had worn off, Ron's reaction was "Woah, say that again?" Harry then looked up at Ron and repeated "Ginny, I like Ginny."  
  
He braced himself against the back of the chair, expecting Ron to lunge at him violently any second now. But much too Harry's surprise, Ron  
  
smiled. And it wasn't a strained smile of a friend trying hard not to hurt a friends feelings, it was a real smile. "Well Harry, I'll admit that that  
  
was very unexpected, but if there's anyone in the world who I want to like my little sister, it's you." Ron laughed at Harry's shocked expression.  
  
Harry smiled then, too. "So when are you going to tell Hermione?" He asked, changing the subject. Ron's smile disapeared immediatly.  
  
  
  
*************  
  
It was the day before they were going to leave for Hogwarts, and the entire Weasley family was gathered in the living room in front of a blazing  
  
fire. Fred and George were hard at work on their latest invention, Percy and Mr. Weasley were debating topics about work, Ginny and Hermione  
  
were listening to music on the muggle radio that Hermione had brought, Mrs. Weasley was knitting in an arm chair by the fire, and Ron and  
  
Harry were playing chess. It was all together a very cozy scene. A song came on the radio that apparently Ginny and Hermione liked a lot.  
  
They turned the volume up and both started singing along to it very loudly. Neither one could sing at all, which made it very amusing. "Man,  
  
she's pretty." Harry thought to himself as he watched Ginny. He felt his heart speed up as he watched Ginny sing along to the song, laughing  
  
in between the words. Harry listened to the words of the chorus-  
  
  
  
I can be your hero, baby.  
  
I can kiss away the pain.  
  
I will stand by you forever.  
  
You can take, my breathe away.  
  
I can be, your hero.  
  
  
  
"That's exactly how I feel about Ginny." Harry thought to himself. He never wanted anything to hurt her, he wanted to stay with her forever  
  
just to make sure that that never happened. He was knocked out of his reverie by Ron yelling "Check mate!" very loudly. Harry sighed as he  
  
studied the chess board. He had never won against Ron, and probably never would.  
  
When the song ended, the girls turned the radio off. Harry nudged Ron in the side, and whispered "Now, tell her now." Ron looked appalled."In  
  
front of everyone?" He asked. Harry rolled his eyes. "No, ask her to go for a walk, then tell her." Ron looked extrememly nervous, so Harry gave  
  
him a quick push, but instead of standing up, Ron just fell of the couch with a loud 'thump!'. Everyone in the room turned and looked at him.  
  
"oops." He muttered as he got back on the couch. "Ron," Harry whispered. "You have to tell her now. Do it!" Ron took a deep breathe, then  
  
cleared his throat. "uuhh..Hermione?" He asked hesitantly. She looked up at him. "uhh..do you wanna maybe....go for a walk, or something?"  
  
He asked nervously. Hermoine turned a deep shade of red and answered "Sure, ok." Then they both stood up and went outside. Once they  
  
were gone, Fred and George both burst out laughing. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes at them. "Wow Harry," George said between chuckles.  
  
"How did you get him to do that?" Yeah," Fred answered. "He wouldn't blink if I asked him to." Harry just smiled and shrugged, his eyes resting  
  
on Ginny's smiling face.  
  
  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile outside, Ron wasn't having near as much fun as Fred and George were. He and Hermione were walking slowly down the  
  
road, serveral feet apart from eachother. After a few minutes Ron felt he could bear the silence no longer. He had to say something. "Hermione,"  
  
He started. She stopped walking and turned to look at him. For a moment he thought he might lose his nerve and suggest that they go back  
  
inside, but then he looked into her eyes, her beautiful hazel eyes, and he knew he had to tell her. Now. Or else it could be too late. "Hermione,  
  
I like you... a lot. I think-I think I even love you." He said softly. He was amazed at how calm and collected his own voice sounded when  
  
his heart was going so fast it felt like it would explode. Hermione smiled, and threw her arms around his neck. "I love you, too." She whispered  
  
into his ear. Ron felt all his nervousness and all his fear fade away as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him.  
  
  
  
************  
  
  
  
A/N:  
  
Yet another chapter up and finished. Wow, I sound like Dumbledore! ok, anyway, I know this chapter is mainly R/H, but I felt it was necessary  
  
to get this out of the way so that now the rest of the story can be focusing on H/G. The song Ginny and Hermione were singing is where I  
  
got my title from, incase you can't tell. Oh, I'm sorry if there was any confusion in the last chapter, the woman in the nursery was Lily, Harry's  
  
mother. I guess I sould have made it a bit more clear who it was. Please tell me if you think I should try a Lily & James fic or not. I've got some  
  
ideas already but what I need is your support. I'd really appreciate it if you R&R my other fic about the night Lily and James died, too. K, well I  
  
guess that's all for now! Please review!! (pleeeeaaase)  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~  
  
P.S. If you review my fic, I'll R&R yours, as long as it's either G or PG. 


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry potter. J.K.Rowling does.  
  
  
  
A/N:*****READ THIS!!!****  
  
THIS IS NOW HARRY'S 6TH YEAR, NOT HIS 5TH. SO HARRY IS SIXTEEN AND GINNY IS FIFTEEN. SORRY I JUST THOUGHT THAT 14  
  
WAS A LITTLE YOUNG TO BE IN LOVE. ok, please review when you're done reading this.  
  
  
  
Thanks to last times reviewers:  
  
Ancalime Aurehen- Thanks! I know Ron's a little weird sometimes. But I like him. I just put that piano thing in there cuz yes, I think Ginny does  
  
seem like a piano person and i play the piano so I felt like giving her seme connection to me. I can play that song, actually and it's one of my  
  
favorites. I read one of your fics and it was awesome.  
  
la2ur2a- Thank you! The song doesn't really come in anymore, I just really like that song and felt like throwing it in there. But there won't be any  
  
more of it.  
  
Julephenia-Thank you so much! You sound like a very sweet person. I think I'll try a L & J fic after school is out for the summer. I know Ron and  
  
Hermione are so cute together and Harry and Ginny are like the perfect couple.  
  
Writer Angel-Thanks! I didn't want to make it a song fic cuz I think some of those are pretty corny. But not all of them. I will try a L & J fic after  
  
this. I read your fic and it was good but sad! You have a lot of talent. Do you know a mean person named Eliza or something? Just wondering. : )  
  
HarryandGinny4eva- Thanks for reviewing! I will keep going, I've set a goal to finish this story and I will. I'll try to hurry, too.  
  
GothQueen- Sorry, sorry. Here it is and I'm sorry it took me so long, but I can't write when I'm in a hotel in Houston. Thanks for reviewing and  
  
there are some 'sparks' as you call them in here.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 6  
  
  
  
************************  
  
  
  
The next few months went by quickly, and before Harry knew it they had already been at Hogwarts for 3 months.  
  
He had been selected Quidditch Captain, as well as prefect. Hermione was also a prefect, and Ron was a little upset that he wasn't, but after a  
  
few days he forgot about it. Ron and Hermione seemed very happy together, though they fought at least 4 times a week. But their fights only  
  
lasted a few hours and they always made up afterwards.  
  
They were eating breakfast in the great hall one morning when Dumbledore stood up to make an anouncement. "Due to last years great  
  
success, we've decided that the Yule Ball will be made a annual event. Therefore I suggest that those who do not have dates not to keep it that  
  
way. Thank you." Harry paniced (sp?) immediatly. He had to get a date? But there was only one person he wanted to go with, and he was too  
  
scared that she would turn him down to ask her.  
  
In the next few days Harry got countless invitations to the ball. But he turned them all down, he knew he could never go with anyone except  
  
Ginny. He knew he had to ask her, but the problem was he couldn't do it. Several times he had started walking toward her, but when they  
  
started talking he lost all his guts and started talking about Quidditch, or school.  
  
A few days later, in the boys dormitory, Harry was telling all this to Ron. "If you want to go with her so bloody bad, just ask her!" His friend  
  
said for the tenth time. "But you don't understand, what if she says no? I couldn't live with that! You had it easy, Hermoine liked you back! But  
  
what if Ginny doesn't like me?" Ron rolled his eyes and sighed. "Well if you never tell her, she'll never know, and nothing will ever happen. Is  
  
that what you want?" Harry looked down at the floor. "No." He mumbled. "Then all you have to do is tell her. She won't say no, I think she still  
  
likes you." But there was uncertainty in Ron's voice when he said the later statement, and it didn't comfort Harry much. Harry sighed. "Okay,  
  
okay, I'll tell her. tomorrow." His voice sounded shaky and uncertain. Ron smiled at his best friend. "It'll be okay, Harry. You'll be glad after  
  
you do it, trust me, I was nervous, too." Harry looked up at Ron, and despite the twisted feeling in his stomach, he couldn't help but smile. Ron  
  
wasn't helping much, but he was sure trying.  
  
  
  
**********************  
  
The next day Ron, Harry and Hermione were all coming out of DADA when they spotted Ginny on her way to Divination. Harry felt the familiar  
  
weakness in his knees as he watched the way her long, shiny hair fell behind her shoulders. "Merlin I love that girl." He thought to himself.  
  
Ron gave Harry a little nudge. "It's now or never." He whispered in Harry's ear. Hermione looked confused as Harry bit his lower lip and moved  
  
slowly toward Ginny, who was walking with her best friend, Heather Ericson. Harry looked behind him and Ron gave him an encouraging nod  
  
and smile as he took Hermione's arm to lead her to potions class. Harry took a deep breath, and mustering every ounce of courage in him he  
  
walked up behind Ginny and 'Ahemed' loudly. When she turned around and her eyes looked into his, he felt his heart immediatly speed up to  
  
what he was sure was an unnatural rate.  
  
"Uh..Hi Ginny. Do you mind if we talk...alone?" He said nervously. Heather's eyes got very big and she turned and sprinted down the hall. This  
  
behaviour confused Harry but he didn't have time to think about it because Ginny asked "Yes, Harry?" The soft sound of her voice made him  
  
tremble. He pushed away the panic that was threatening to make him run away and asked "uhhh..are you going to the ball with anyone?" trying  
  
without success to look away from her bright blue eyes. "No, I'm not." She answered. "Oh." Harry said. There was a few moments of silence  
  
before Ginny asked "Why did you ask me that?" Harry blushed while answering. "oh, well, I'm not going with anyone, either, and I was sort of  
  
wondering if you....If you would go. With me, I mean." Stupid, stupid, stupid! Harry thought as he mentally hit himself on the head. Ginny  
  
blushed and stared at the ground. "You don't have to do that." She said in a quiet voice. "What?" Harry asked. Ginny looked up at him, still  
  
blushing. "It's ok, really, I appreciate it, though." Harry felt his heart fall to his feet. She was saying no. She didn't want to go with him. He felt  
  
tears stinging his eyes but quickly blinked them away. "Oh, well that's ok. Don't worry about it. I...I guess I'll just go alone then." He tried to  
  
smile, and was about to turn away when Ginny asked "What do you mean you'll go alone?" Harry turned back to her, now more confused than  
  
ever. "I saw Cho Chang ask you, why don't you go with her?" she asked. 'What is she talking about?' Harry thought. "Because I don't like Cho  
  
Chang." He answered. "Then ask whoever you do like." She said. Harry stared at her for a few seconds. "I already did. I like you, isn't that  
  
obvious?" After Harry said this Ginny stared at him unbelievingly. "You like me?" She whispered. Harry smiled at her sadly. "No, I love you."  
  
He whispered. He was about to turn away when he felt Ginny's slim hand grab his arm. He turned around again, feeling his heart squeeze  
  
painfully as he looked into her eyes. "I love you, too." She whispered. Harry couldn't believe what he had heard. "But, but you just turned me  
  
down." He said. She smiled at him. "That's only because I thought the only reason you were asking me was because Ron asked you to. So that  
  
I would have a date." Harry felt a rush of happiness and he felt like laughing. But instead he smiled. He leaned over and kissed her soft cheek.  
  
"Meet you in the common room at 7:00 on Christmas?" He asked softly. She smiled and nodded happily. Then she turned and walked up the  
  
steps to Divination.  
  
Harry stared at the spot where she had disspeared for a few minutes before realizing that he was supposed to be in potions. He turned and  
  
sprinted as fast as he could. He got caught on 2 trick steps because he was thinking about Ginny. When he finally reached the door to the  
  
potions class he stopped and rested, trying to slow his heart and his breathing. He could hear Snape's icy voice coming from the other side of  
  
the door. This was not going to be fun.  
  
He opened the door slowly, trying not to make any noise. But Snape whirled around and fixed his black eyes directly on Harry's. Harry whinced,  
  
Snape looked very excited and that was never a good sign. Snapes lips curled into an evil grin as he put his hands behind his back. "Well, well,  
  
what have we here. The famous Gryffindor, late for class. Looks like some people aren't as high and mighty as they claim they are." All the  
  
Slytherins in the room burst into laughter, and all the Gryffindors ground their teeth and threw murderous looks at Snape. But Snape wasn't  
  
done. "You are just like your father potter, always assuming that you are famous enough to get away with anything. Well I'm not about to let  
  
anyone get away with that. twenty points from Gryffindor and Detention. We'll see how high and mighty you are tonight while scrubbing every  
  
inch of the dungeons." He glared at Harry for a few more seconds then turned around and continued teaching the class.  
  
Usually this would have left Harry in a very bad mood, but he felt that nothing could get him down now. Who cared if he got detention? He  
  
certainly didn't. Ginny Weasley loved him the same way that he loved her, and that was all that mattered right now.  
  
  
  
*************************  
  
Harry felt that he was in some kind of Euphoria, he had never known anyone could be this happy. Two weeks had passes since that  
  
wonderful day when he had asked Ginny out, and now only a week reamained until Christmas. Because of the ball practically everyone was  
  
staying at Hogwarts over the holidays. It was a Hogsmeade weekend, and Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were all going together. After they  
  
looked around for a while together, they decided to split up so that Ron and Harry could look at the Quidditch store and Ginny and Hermione  
  
at dress robes. After Ron and Harry had looked at Quincey's Quality Quidditch supplies for a while, they decided to get the girls presents. They  
  
walked around for about half and hour without any clue where to start when they spotted 'Edna Mae's Jewelrey and accessories' and decided to  
  
give it a try. As soon as they entered they felt immediatly out of place, the shop was filled with chattering and giggling girls. They were about  
  
to turn and leave to try and find a place a bit less...well...feminine, when a middle aged witch dressed in sparkly pink robes bussled over to them.  
  
"Looking for christmas presents for the young ladies?" She asked in a suger sweet voice. Ron and Harry glanced nervoulsy at each other and  
  
Harry answered "Uh...yeah, acutally we are." The lady smiled. " My name is Katrina. Perhaps I can help you?" Ron shrugged, and she  
  
immediatly led them to the jewelry cases.  
  
An hour later, Ron and Harry emerged from the store. As soon as they were out they both breathed deeply. That shop had been much too  
  
heavily perfumed. Ron had chosen a silver necklace with light blue beads on it for Hermione, and Harry had a gold ivy bracelet for Ginny. They  
  
now had only ten minutes until they were supposed to meet the girls, so they headed on to The Three Broom Sticks, which was where they  
  
were supposed to meet.  
  
  
  
Six days later Harry was lying in his four poster, not able to fall asleep. The ball was the next day, and Harry was both excited and nervous.  
  
When he finally did fall asleep, it was to another nightmare.  
  
He was standing in a forest, surounded by tall trees. He looked up into the starry sky, and suddenly something appeared among them. It was  
  
the dark mark, pale and ghostly. Harry turned and ran as fast as he could toward the mark, until he was standing directly underneath it. He  
  
looked around, searching through the underbrush and trees. And then he saw her, lying pale and lifeless on the dead leaves, her bright hair  
  
spread out around her. It was Ginny. He screamed and ran toward her and as he was running he heard the laugh, it spread around him and  
  
made his blood run cold. It seemed to Harry that it not only filled his ears, but his heart and soul as well, filling him with pain and despair.  
  
He bent down by Ginny, the laugh still echoing among the dark trees. "She's not going to wake up." Said an a harsh voice behind him. He stood  
  
up and whirled around, wiping the hot tears from his cheeks. A tall, cloaked figure stood there, leaning against a tree. "Why?" whispered Harry.  
  
"Why did you do this to her? She was no threat to you." Voldemort laughed. "No, but you are. You should have known Potter, I will destroy  
  
everyone and everything you love and care for. Just like I did your parents." Harry could no longer hold in his anger and hatred. He lunged at  
  
Voldemort, no longer caring if he died. He didn't have anything to live for anymore. Voldemort pulled out his wand and muttered "Avada  
  
Kedavra." He was instantly surounded by bright green light.  
  
Harry opened his eyes to the darkness of his dormitory. He blinked several times, making sure he was really here. The dream, just like all the  
  
others, had seemed so real. He shivered as he remembered Ginny's pale, still face. He tried to go back to sleep, but he couldn't. This dream had  
  
been worse than the others. Not so much because of what he had seen, but because he knew that Voldemort had spoken the truth. He was  
  
putting not only Ginny, but Hermione and all the Weasley's in great danger. He knew he wouldn't be able to live with himself if anything  
  
happened to them because of him. He stared out the window at the twinkling stars until he fell asleep.  
  
  
  
**********************  
  
  
  
A/N:  
  
I'm sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up, I was out of town all weekend plus I've got exams coming up and you know how that goes.  
  
I hope you liked this chapter, and I'm sorry if it was too mushy or anything. Oh and if you missed what I wrote before the chapter, this is now  
  
Harry's 6th year, not his 5th. Sorry if that's confusing. I've decided that I'll write a L & J fic this summer, after I finish this one. And I might do  
  
one about Sirius when he was at Hogwarts, too. Please read my other story and as always please review. Thanks!  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or even pretend to. It all belongs to J.K.Rowling.  
  
  
  
Lots of thanks to my reviewers:  
  
Julephenia-I know, I feel so sorry for Harry! Anyway, thanks for reviewing. Yeah, it probably is too violent, I don't like reading anything above  
  
PG. Well thanks for all of your support!  
  
Keaira-Hey! Thanks! If you have any ideas let me know. I haven't told Beth about Heero yet, but I'll try to if I remember. : ) Are you really  
  
gonna put up an Ask Frodo fic? Please do! That would be so funny! And I have lots of question for him, like "I love you!" No, I'm jk. ttyl!  
  
la2ur2a-Thanks! Yeah that song's really sweet.  
  
Daphne Black- Thank you! I'll read your new chapter right after I finish posting this.  
  
  
  
Thank ya'll so much! Your support means a lot to me!  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
  
  
**************************  
  
The next morning Harry awoke to Ron shaking him rather violently. "Harry, Harry wake up! It's Christmas! Oi, look at all these presents!" Harry  
  
rolled over, sat up and started opening his own pile of presents.  
  
Half and hour later he had a small model of a Quidditch field complete with brooms and goals, (like the one oliver wood had in the books, can't  
  
remember which one) from Ginny, and book called 'How to be a great Quidditch Captain' from Hermione, Chocolate frogs from Ron, a sweater  
  
and a fruit cake from Mrs. Weasley, and rock cakes from Hagrid. There was still one envelope to be opened. Harry picked it up gingerly, it  
  
looked very worn out and dirty. He turned it over, the front read "Harry" in very messy handwriting. "Who do you think this could be from?"  
  
he asked Ron, who was presently stuffing his face with Bernie Botts every flavor Beans. He looked over at the envelope and shrugged.  
  
"Dunno. Open it, already." Harry carefully pealed it open and turned it upside down. Out of the envelope fell two things, a letter and a necklace.  
  
Harry picked up the necklace carefully. Ron was staring at it with his mouth open, which wasn't too pleasant considering it was filled with  
  
chewed up food. It was a beautiful gold chain, and dangling off of it was a shining green emerald. "Who's it from, come on see who it's from!"  
  
Ron said, hurridly joining Harry on his bed. Harry slowly opened the letter. He looked at the bottom of it to see who it was from. "It's from  
  
Sirius." He said, then started to read the rest of the letter.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry,  
  
First of all, Merry Christmas! I am very sorry that I am not able to be with you. I suppose by now you  
  
are curious about the necklace. I am aware that this is probably not what you had in mind for  
  
Christmas, but under my current circumstances, it will have to do. James brought this necklace when  
  
he was in his 6th year at Hogwarts, in fact I helped him pick it out. He and Lily had just started dating,  
  
and this was his Christmas present to her. She never took it off, not even after they had gotten married.  
  
On the night that they died, after Hagrid had taken you away, I found this necklace on Lily, her hand  
  
wrapped tighly around it. I took it, planning to give it to you when you were older. I was wearing  
  
it when I was captured, and I kept it the whole time I was in Azkaban. Every time I thought it might be  
  
discovered, I hid it in my mouth. So as you see, this necklace has been through quite a lot and I hope  
  
you take very good care of it, which I know you will. Perhaps in time you will find someone who you will  
  
wish to give it to. Take care Harry, and as always, inform me if anything out of the ordinary happens.  
  
Tell Ron and Hermione Merry Christmas for me.  
  
  
  
Your Godfather,  
  
Sirius Black  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry read it a second time before handing it to Ron, then he picked up the necklace again. The emerald seemed to sparkle every color of green  
  
imaginable. His father had given this to his mother when he wasn't much older than Harry. Harry knew exactly who he wanted to give the  
  
necklace to-Ginny. The emerald reminded him of her for some reason. After Ron had finished the letter Harry put it and the necklace back in the  
  
envelope and put it in his trunk. Ron stared at Harry uncertainly, not sure if he wanted to be alone for a while. Harry was silent for a few minutes,  
  
lost in thought about his mother and his father and how little he actually knew about them. "Harry?" Ron asked timidly. Harry was jerked out of  
  
his thoughts. "Let's go eat. I'm hungry." Harry said. Ron nodded and then left the dormitory. Harry walked towards the door, but before he left  
  
he turned and looked at the worn envelope laying on top of his open trunk. He saw a flash of green light from somewhere in his memory, and  
  
once more heard the woman screaming. "Harry, You coming?" Ron asked. Harry turned back to the stairs and joined Ron on the way to  
  
breakfast.  
  
  
  
********************  
  
Ginny and Hermione weren't at breakfast, Harry and Ron guessed they had been down much earlier and were probably already getting ready for  
  
the ball tonight. After eating, they engaged in a snow ball fight with the other Gryffindor boys. This lasted several hours, and by the time they  
  
were through there was only an hour left till the ball. Harry and Ron hurried up to their dormitory and showered and changed into their dress  
  
robes. Harry's were dark green, and Ron's were still maroon, but a darker and a more 'manly' shade than the one's from his 4th year. They went  
  
downstairs to wait for the girls and started a game of chess, since they figured Hermione and Ginny would most likely be late. Neither one was  
  
actually concetrating on the game, though, both were much too nervous and excited. So after a few minutes they gave it up and joined Dean,  
  
Seamus, Neville, George, and Fred in sitting around doing nothing. Before long they heard giggling coming from the direction of the girls  
  
dormitory. Those who had shown signs of falling asleep (namely Fred) quickly jerked themselves awake again. Katie and Angelina came down  
  
first and were lead away by George and Fred. Parvati, Lavender, and Hermioine all came down together. Hermione looked very pretty in pale  
  
blue robes. Soon only Harry and Neville were remaining in the common room. Harry figdeited nervously with the tassles on the scarlet pillow,  
  
and Neville looked like he was about to pass out. Neville was going with Ginny's best friend, Heather Ericson. Just when Harry thought He  
  
couldn't stand it anymore and was about to go up the stairs and tell them to hurry up, he heard footsteps on the stairs and soon they appeared.  
  
Ginny was wearing pale green robes and her hair was curled, with the front two strands braided and clipped back behind her head. Harry walked  
  
over to her and offered her his arm. She smiled and took it. "You look beautiful." He told her. She blushed. "Thank you. How was your  
  
Christmas?" She asked. "It was good. What about yours?" She smiled again. "Wonderful. Thank you so much for my bracelet!" She said as she  
  
pulled back her sleeve to reveal the golden bracelet Harry had given her. "Your welcome. Thanks a lot for my Quidditch model thing, I tried it  
  
out today and it was awesome. I think it'll help a lot with our next Quidditch match." They stopped talking when they entered the Great Hall, the  
  
decorations took all of their attention. There were fairy lights covering every inch of the walls, and someone had put a charm on the stars on the  
  
ceiling to make them shoot every once in a while.  
  
After they had eaten, music started playing and people got up to dance. "I don't really feel like dancing" Harry said to Ginny. He wanted to talk  
  
to her about his dream. "Me either." She agreed. "Do you want to go for a walk?" He asked her. She smiled and nodded. Outside it was even  
  
more beautiful than inside. The entire garden was covered with rose bushes. They sat on a bench and watched the people dancing inside.  
  
"Ginny, I had another dream last night," Harry started. Ginny didn't say anything but he could tell she was listening. It made me realize, I'm  
  
putting you in danger, just by being with you. Voldemort killed my parents because of me, he might you, too." Ginny was silent for a little while.  
  
"Harry," she sighed. "I think you worry way too much. You're only sixteen, I don't think you need to worry about Voldemort until you're out of  
  
Hogwarts, there's nothing you can do about him until then, anyway. He can't get into Hogwarts." Harry thought about this for a minute. She  
  
was right, he didn't need to worry about Voldemort until he was out of the safety of Hogwarts. He bite his lip and nodded. "You're right, I still  
  
have a couple more years of safety. But I think I need to start preparing now. I'm going to ask Remus if he'll give me Auror lessons." (A/N:  
  
Lupin is the DADA teacher now, sorry I didn't metion that earlier, it slipped my mind) Ginny looked surprised. "You're going to be an Auror?"  
  
She asked. Harry nodded "yes, I am." Ginny's eyes got very big. "You can't!." She said. This reaction took Harry by surprise. "What's wrong  
  
with being and Auror? My father was one." He said. "Yeah and look where it got him." She snapped. As soon as she said it she clapped her  
  
hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. You just surprised me and I don't want you to get hurt, being an Auror is  
  
very dangerous. I mean look at Mad Eye Moody!" Harry sighed again. "It's ok, I should have told you earlier. But I'm still going to train. You  
  
don't understand, I have to do this. I dont' know why, maybe it's for my parents or something." Ginny bit her lip very hard, but nodded in  
  
agreement. "You want to go back inside?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded again and they went back into the sparkling Great Hall.  
  
The rest of the evening was much more enjoyable than the garden had been. They talked and joked with their friends until Dumbledore stood  
  
up and told everyone to leave. All the Gryffindor's played games in the Common Room until McGonagall came in and screamed at them to go to  
  
bed. "I had a wonderfull time, Harry. Thank you for taking me." Ginny said, still laughing at how McGonagall had looked in her hair rollers. "I  
  
had fun, too. You're welcome, thanks for going with me." Harry replied with a grin. Ginny smiled and when McGonagall stuck her head back in  
  
the door and gave what was meant to be a strict look she fell back into a fit of giggles. "GO TO BED, ALL OF YOU!!" McGonagall screamed.  
  
All giggling and talking was instantly hushed and everyone started toward the stairs. Ginny blushed as she kissed Harry on the cheek then ran  
  
up the stairs the Girl's dormitary.  
  
  
  
*******************  
  
A few months later Harry was standing on Platform 9 3/4 with Hermione, Ron and Ginny. He could hardly believe another year was over, he only  
  
had one more year left, one more year of childhood. He had been taking Auror lessons from Lupin twice a week since the night of the ball, and  
  
Lupin had stated over and over again that Harry was the most talented wizard he had ever seen. But more than talent, Harry thought it was his  
  
desire to succeed. Maybe it was a need for revenge, but Harry was determined to become and Auror, even if it killed him. Voldemort had  
  
destroyed his life already, and if Harry could save even one person from going through what he had gone through, it would all be worth it.  
  
Harry heard a car horn honk loudly and looked up to see the Dursley's car waiting a few feet away. He sighed, this was not going to be a fun  
  
summer. "Well, bye you guys." Harry said dully. "Oh come on chap, you'll be with them for two months!" Ron said in an attempt to cheer Harry  
  
up. Harry smiled despite his despair. "Yeah, that's the probelm." He said. Hermione laughed, "Well don't worry, we'll owl you every single day."  
  
Harry grinned. "Thanks guys. See you in a few months, then." Hermione hugged him, Ron patted him roughly on the back, and Ginny kissed  
  
him shyly. Uncle Vernon honked the horn again and Harry walked over to the car. After putting his trunk and owl cage in the trunk of the car,  
  
Harry turned and waved to his friends, who waved back. The second he got in the car, Dudley screamed "I WANT TO SIT THERE! HE'S  
  
SITTING WHERE I WANT TO SIT! MUMMY, TELL HIM TO MOVE!!!" Aunt Petunia leaned over and patted Dudley's fat knee. "It's ok,  
  
pumkin." She cooed. "Move over, boy." She snapped at Hary. Harry sighed as he climbed back out of the car. While his way over to the other  
  
side of the car he put his hands up to his throat and made a choking noise. Ginny and Hermione giggled and Ron grinned. Once he was back in  
  
the car and Dudley had finnaly stopped complaining about not getting enough air, Uncle Vernon stomped on the accelarator. Harry turned  
  
around to look at his friends through the window. He smiled as he watched Mrs. Weasley envelope Ron lovingly in her arms. He saw Ginny  
  
waving at him and he waved back at her until she was out of sight.  
  
  
  
******************  
  
  
  
A/N: Hey ya'll! : ) Thanks to everyone who reviewed last time, I'm having so much fun writing this story! Well I hope you like this chapter, and  
  
if you do, please tell me! I'll try to get the next chapter up asap but I'm really busy what with my final exams being tomorrow and all. Oh and if  
  
haven't already, please read my cuz's fics! Her Pen name is Kearia she's got some really funny stories. Well I have to go now, Please review and  
  
God Bless!  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer:I don't own Harry Potter. It all belongs to J.K.Rowling.  
  
To the last chapters reviewers:  
  
la2ur2a-Thanks! I read your new chapter and it was great. oh and I was just wondering waht YW stands for. : )  
  
HarryandGinny4eva- Thank you so much! You're really sweet. btw, you have an awesome name.  
  
powerblazer- Thanks a lot! And you're very welcome, I really enjoyed reading it! Keep up the good work!  
  
Babystar- Wow! Thank you so much! You're awesome! Oh and please post the next chapter of your story soon!  
  
When you do, please tell me in a review or something so I'll know. You're welcome for my review! : )  
  
Daphne Black-Thank you! I kinda like it, too. But of course, I'm the author, so I don't know if my opinion counts  
  
or not.  
  
  
  
Okay, that's all. Now for chapter 8 of "I can be your Hero."!!  
  
  
  
Chapter 8  
  
  
  
******************  
  
Harry spent the next few weeks avoiding the Dursleys as much as possible. He spent most of the days sitting is his room,  
  
either working on his homework or studying one of his text books. It wasn't much fun, but it managed to pass time.  
  
One night Harry was sitting at his desk, reading the book on Quidditch that Hermoine gave him for Christmas. He  
  
sighed as he closed the book and looked up at his alarm clock. Four minutes left. In four minutes he would be seventeen.  
  
He stood up and jumped on his bed. He lay on his stomach, his head resting on his hands, staring at the clock and listening  
  
to the soft patter of rain falling on the roof. Three minutes. Two and a half. Two. For some reason he felt excited, even though  
  
he knew that there would be no big party in his honor, and very few presents. But still, party or no, he was turning seventeen,  
  
and that alone was enough to excite him. One minute. He turned the clock so he could see it better. Thirty seconds. Ten, nine,  
  
eight. He pushed himself up onto his elbows. Four seconds, Three, Two, One, He was seventeen. He smiled happily."Happy birthday,  
  
Harry." He whispered. He jumped as he heard a taping noise behind him. He sat up and looked around to find several owls  
  
outside his window, and in the middle of them was Hedwig, taping sharply on the glass window. Harry walked across the room  
  
and opened the window. All of the owls flew inside, fighting each other to get through the window. Harry could hardly blame them,  
  
it was raining much harder now. After they had all dropped their letters and packages on the bed and landed safely on the floor, the  
  
owls instantly fell asleep. 'It must have been a long trip', Harry thought. He just hoped that they would wake up before morning, he  
  
really didn't think the Dursleys would be pleased with a group of owls camping out in their house. He sat back on his bed and opened  
  
the letter closest to him. It was the yearly letter from Hogwarts. He scanned it quickly, most of it was identical to last years, but one  
  
sentance at the end caught his attention. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected Head Boy of Gryffindor. You  
  
will be provided with a list of your new responsabilites when you reach Hogwarts." Cool, Harry thought. He threw the letter  
  
aside and moved onto his other presents. In Ron's letter, he invited Harry to come over for Ginny's sixtenth birthday, which  
  
was three weeks away. Harry felt like whoping aloud when he read this, he had been missing the Weasley's, and Ginny in  
  
particular, very badly and didn't know if he would have been able to wait another month and a half before seeing them.  
  
After he finished opening all his other presents he hid them in the loose board under his bed. He wrote a short note to Ron  
  
saying that he would definitly come over, wether Uncle Vernon alowed it or not. He Woke Pig up, tied the note onto his leg,  
  
and watched him fly away into the pitch black night. Harry changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed, suddenly very  
  
tired. For the first time in 3 weeks, Harry went to sleep with a smile on his face.  
  
  
  
**********************  
  
The next morning there was the usual silence hanging over the breakfast table. You would never have known that it was one  
  
of the family members 17th birthday. But this didn't bother Harry much, he was used to it. And besides, any attention the Dursleys  
  
gave him was never a good kind. Harry was about to get up and go back to his room to look at his presents again when there  
  
was a very loud knock on the door. Uncle Vernon laid down his paper. "Don't people know what a bloody doorbell is anymore?"  
  
He muttered as he pushed his balky self out of the chair. He walked down the hall and opened the door a crack. Standing on the  
  
small porch was a tall, skinny man whom Vernon had never seen before in his life. He had messy hair. Mr. Dursley already didn't  
  
like him. "Can I help you?" He said gruffly. "uhh....yes...does Harry Potter live here?" Mr. Dursleys eyes snapped wide open.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked angrily. "Oh, sorry, is this the wrong house? I'm pretty sure Dumbledore said #4, maybe it was 5,  
  
My name is Sirius Black. Do you know a boy named Harry Potter?" Uncle Vernon wanted to slam the door shut, but if this man  
  
was one of them, that might not be such a great idea. "Yes. I suppose you could say he's my nephew. How do you know him?" Sirius  
  
cleared his throat, he couldn't figure out why this man seemed so angry. Had he broken some kind of strict muggle law never to  
  
ask for someones nephew? "I'm his Godfather." He answered. All of the color drained from Mr. Dursley's once purple face.  
  
"G-Godfaa-faa-Godfather?" He whispered. Sirius nodded confusedly. After a few minutes of staring into space Mr. Dursley  
  
stepped back and opened the door wide. Sirius stepped inside and followed him into the kitchen. When Harry saw Sirius step  
  
into the room, he thought there must be something wrong with his eyesight. What would Sirius be doing here? But as the man  
  
got closer, he realized it was definitly Sirius. Harry jumped excitedly out of his chair and ran to Sirius. "Sirius! What are you  
  
doing here?" He asked as he gave his Godfather a quick hug. Sirius laughed at his excited Godson. "Just came to wish my  
  
favorite Godson a happy birthday." He said as he ruffled Harry's already wild hair. Harry smiled happily. "Here." Sirius said as  
  
he handed Harry a small package wrapped messily in newspaper. Uncle Vernon had already pulled Aunt Petunia and Dudley  
  
into the Living room and slamed the door shut loudly. Harry ripped open the present quickly. He opened up the small cardboard  
  
box to reveal a miniature stag, carved out of wood. Every detail seemed perfect. Harry almost dropped it when it stomped its  
  
foot and shook its head. It had a spell on it to make it move. Harry looked up at Sirius. "Thank you. It's wonderful." He  
  
whispered happily. Sirius shrugged, but Harry could tell he was pleased that he liked it. "Did you make it?" Harry asked as  
  
he stroked the smooth wood. "Yeah, I did. I know it's not much, but I can't really go into any stores. My dad taught me how  
  
to carve when I was young and I borrowed a witch's wand to put the spell on it." Harry laughed. He didn't know why, but  
  
he was so happy he just felt like laughing. For a split second he was no longer a orphen with a dark wizard after him, but a  
  
young boy on his seventeenth birthday. For a moment he felt all his cares and worries disapear, and all that was left was joy.  
  
To Harry's surprise as well as Sirius's, Sirius threw his head back and laughed, too. Uncle Vernon probably thought they had  
  
both gone loopy. After a few minutes they both managed to stop laughing. "It's been a very long time since I've done that."  
  
Sirius said with a smile. Harry grinned back at him. "Come on, I'll show you my room. Maybe you can help me with a nasty  
  
Transfiguration essay I have to do." He said as he led his Godfather up the stairs.  
  
  
  
******************  
  
Three weeks later, Harry was getting ready to go to the Weasley's. He tried for the tenth time to flatten his hair, and sighed  
  
as it popped right back up again. He grabbed Ginny's present and went down to the living room. Mr. Weasley was  
  
going to pick him up using floo powder. This time the fire place was wisely left un-blocked. Uncle Vernon, Aunt Petunia,  
  
and Dudley had all gone out shopping, and Harry guessed it was more an excuse to get out of the house than a sudden need  
  
for a new sprinkler. After Harry had been waiting for a few minutes Mr. Weasley appeared in the ashy fireplace.  
  
"Hello, Harry. You all ready to go?" He asked as he stepped out and dusted himself off. "Hi Mr. Weasley. Yeah,  
  
I'm ready." Harry answered as he walked over to the fireplace.  
  
Harry got up off the floor and put his glasses back on his face to find himself standing in the Weasley's cheery living room.  
  
"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley said as she gave him a motherly hug. "It's so nice to see you again. You're so tall!" Harry was  
  
greeted by all the other members of the Weasley family, as was Mr Weasley when he stepped out of the fireplace. Harry  
  
felt his heart speed up as usual when Ginny hugged him. He noticed that she had done something different with her  
  
hair, parted it different, or something. It looked very pretty. He told her so as they walked into the dinning room. She  
  
blushed and answered "Thanks. I saw it in a muggle magazine and thought I'd try it." Ron walked up to Harry. "Hey, Harry.  
  
How's your summer going so far?" Harry shrugged. "I think you know how it's going." He answered. "Yeah, I asked mom  
  
if you could stay for the rest of the summer but she said Dumbledore had told her that you have to stay at Privet Drive this  
  
summer. Don't ask me why. Oh and I asked Hermione to come but she couldn't because she's on vacation with her parents  
  
in Italy." Ron said. Harry felt a little disapointed that he wouldn't be able to stay at the Weasley's this summer, but he knew  
  
that Dumbledore had his reasons.After dinner and cake, everyone sat around the living room to watch Ginny open her many  
  
presents.  
  
After about 30 minutes of getting lip gloss, books, and picture frames, Ginny came to Harry's present. She unwrapped it slowly, and  
  
carefully opened up the little box inside. She gasped when she opened it, and stared at it for a few minutes. By now Harry was  
  
very nervous. What if she didn't like it? What if she had a bad history with emeralds or something? But all his fears were  
  
put at ease when she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck. "It's beautiful, Harry. I love it." She pulled back  
  
with a huge grin on her face. She ran over to show it to her mother, and asked her to put it on her. "It's so beautiful."  
  
She whispered. "I've never seen one like it. Where'd you get it?" She asked as she turned to look at Harry. Harry cleared  
  
his throat. "Sirius gave it to me." He muttered. Ginny gave him a very confused look so he decided to explain a little more.  
  
"It was my mother's," He started. "My father gave it to her when they first started dating. Sirius said she never took it off.  
  
He took it off of her the night she was murdered, and just gave it to me this Christmas. I thought you would like it." Ginny  
  
looked down at the shimmering emerald necklace, then back up at Harry. "Thank you." She whispered. "Thank you so much."  
  
  
  
***********************  
  
  
  
A/N: Sorry this took so long to get up and sorry if it's a little short. I was sick a couple of days last week and then went out  
  
of town for a few more. I'll try to get the next chapter up a little sooner and the next one will also be less boring. (I hope)  
  
And if anyone knows how to keep the original formating when you post a story, please tell me in your review! Whenever  
  
I post a chapter or story all the paragraphs go bonkers! HELP ME! Oh and I just put up a new short fic about Sirius, so if  
  
you haven't read it please do!! I've only got 4 reviews on it and I'm a little bit disapointed. Anyway, thanks for reading this and  
  
if you liked it please tell me so! REVIEW!!! (please)  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	9. Chapter 9

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harr Potter. J.K. Rowling does.  
  
For the kind reviewers of chapter 8:  
  
la2ur2a- Thank you so much!! Hehe thanks for telling me what that means. lol. I can be so stupid sometimes!!  
  
Super- Thanks!!!!!!! for both of them!! ; )  
  
Aireon Granger- Thank you!!! I intend to keep on writing this until I'm done. I was going to read your stories,  
  
too, but I don't read anything above PG. But thanks for reading my story!!  
  
Julephenia-Thanks!! Yeah I know I love Sirius. I feel so sorry for him!! : (  
  
HarryandGinny4eva- Thanks for reviewing!! I think Harry and Ginny are the perfect couple!!! They are just so  
  
sweet together!!! Oh and thanks a lot for saying that the last chapter wasn't boring, but I still think it was!!! : )  
  
tumBLbut25- Thank you so much!!! In answer to your question, I think that Harry becomes an adult wizard  
  
when he graduates from Hogwarts after his seventh year there. Correct me if I'm wrong, though!!!  
  
Daphne Black- Thanks so much for your review!! And no, Sirius wasn't cleared yet. He just thought it would  
  
be safe to visit Harry since no one would be looking for him in a muggle town, and it's not like Harry is going  
  
to turn him in or anything.  
  
Bobina- Thank you SO much!!! You made me feel so good!! I guess you'll just have to keep on reading to find  
  
out if anything 'befalls' the happy couple!! lol.  
  
  
  
I can't believe I already have 50 reveiws! My goal on this story was to get at least 50 reviews in all, and I haven't  
  
even finished it yet!! Ya'll are awesome!!! Thank you SO much!!!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 9  
  
********************  
  
The next few weeks went much faster than Harry thought they would, considering he spent them with the Dursley's.  
  
But before he knew it he was back at Hogwarts, and already almost half way through with his 7th and final year  
  
there. He continued to take Auror lessons from Lupin, and he felt more and more powerful after each lesson. He  
  
had spells and curses memorized that he was sure half of Gryffindor house had no idea exsisted, and he had  
  
even done wandless magic a few times.  
  
A few weeks before Christmas, Harry was having his final Auror class before the Holiday break. Harry and Remus  
  
had decided to take a break over Christmas, since they both needed a rest very badly. Up to now Remus had  
  
instructed Harry by telling him how to do certain spells and then letting him try it out on a tree or something outside.  
  
But today Remus felt something new was called for, he could tell Harry was getting tired of doing the same thing  
  
over and over, and Remus was getting a little tired of it, too. And after all, it was the last class before Christmas.  
  
"Harry, how about you and me duel? Just to give you an idea of how to defend yourself when you're up against  
  
a real wizard." Remus asked when Harry came to class that day. Harry grinned. "Really? Okay." They both took  
  
their postitions a few feet in front of eachother. "I can see you've done this before." Lupin muttered. Harry remained  
  
silent. He really didn't feel like bringing up those awful memories. They both bowed slowly, grinning at eachother  
  
and trying not to burst out laughing. Lupin threw a simple leg-locker curse at Harry, which Harry easily blocked by  
  
putting a scarlet shield of fire in front of him. "Good, very good. I'm impressed." Remus complimented. "Thanks."  
  
Harry said. "Ok, I'm going to try something a little more complicated now." Lupin told Harry. Harry deflected the  
  
curse up over his head. Remus nodded approvingly before casting another curse. Harry muttered something that  
  
sent the spell flying straight back at Remus, who blocked it a second too late. After a few mintues the jumping  
  
spell wore off of him. "Wow Harry, you're a lot better than I thought you were. Try throwing something at me  
  
now. But I warn you, I even beat Sirius at dueling." Lupin said with a grin. Without thinking, Harry sent a spell  
  
flying at Remus. Remus muttered a counter-curse, but the spell hit him full on in the stomach. He was thrown  
  
back-wards where he hit a tree with a loud smack. Harry ran over to him and helped him up. After Remus had  
  
put a spell on his back to make the pain go away, he stood staring at Harry confusedly for a few minutes.  
  
"Harry, how did you do that?" Lupin asked. Harry shrugged with a bewildered look on his face. "I dunno.  
  
What do you mean?" He had just cast a simple throwing spell, Remus must just have forgotten that paritcular  
  
counter-curse. "I mean, I perforemed the counter-curse, and it didn't work. Your curse was more powerful than my  
  
block. Remember what I told you when we first started these classes? The spell or block is only as powerful as  
  
the one who casts it." Harry was still confused. Was Remus saying that He, Harry, was more powerful than his  
  
teacher? But Lupin taught him everything he knew, so how could that be? Lupin sighed at the bewildered look  
  
on his young student's face. "You are much more powerful than I am, Harry. I don't know how, but you are. I think  
  
there is a lot more to Harry Potter than everyone seems to think there is."  
  
  
  
Several more weeks passed, and with them went the holidays. In much too short a time everyone was back to going  
  
to classes and doing homework. Harry hadn't told anyone about the happenings of his last Auror lesson, but he had  
  
a feeling that Remus had already told Dumbledore. Harry tried to push away the memories of that day, he still had  
  
a few months of freedom and childhood left, and he wanted to enjoy them as much as possible. Remus continued  
  
to give Harry Auror lessons, only now he was teaching him much more complicated spells and blocks, and was more  
  
of a guide than a teacher.  
  
  
  
***************  
  
The final Quidditch match of the year was coming up, and it was between Gryffindor and Slytherin. (A/N:go figure)  
  
Gryffindor was slightly ahead of Slytherin, but if they lost this game Slytherin would win the Quidditch cup. Harry  
  
was amazed at how much he himself wanted to win, maybe it had something to do with it being his final chance to,  
  
or that he was Captain of the Gryffindor team, or that last years cup had gone to Ravenclaw and he wanted to redeem  
  
Gryffindor. But he found himself pushing his team harder than he had ever pushed them, and he now knew why Oliver  
  
Wood had worked them so hard in Harry's third year.  
  
Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were all sitting in the common room the night before the final match. Harry  
  
was messing around with his miniatureQuidditch field model and the others were all watching him nervously.  
  
After about an hour of this, Ron stretched and said "Well, I'm off to bed. You probably should be too, Harry.  
  
Wouldn't want you falling off your broom tomorrow." This was meant to be a joke, but no one laughed.  
  
"Yeah, well, see you tomorrow then." Ron muttered as he walked up the stairs to the boys dormitory. Soon  
  
after he was gone Hermione left, too.  
  
Harry sighed as he pushed the model away from him. He sat staring into the flickering fire, deep in  
  
thought about the coming game. Ginny walked over to him and sat down next to him on the couch. She pulled  
  
her knees up and rested her head on his shoulder. Harry smiled to himself as he put his arm around her. She fell  
  
asleep almost instantly. "She was probably exhausted", Harry thought. "The only reason she was staying up was  
  
because of me." Once again it surprised him how when he was close to her he forgot all about Quidditch,  
  
all about the Transfiguration test coming up, even all about Voldemort. He kissed her softly on the forehead  
  
before carrying her up the stairs to her dormitory.  
  
  
  
***************  
  
The next morning Harry woke up to the loud beeping of his......pillow? Suddenly he remembered that last night  
  
he had put a spell on his pillow to wake him up in the morning. He grabbed his wand from off his dresser and  
  
shut it up with the counter-curse.  
  
Ten minutes later he walked into the great hall to emormous applause from 3/4 of the room, and loud boos  
  
from the other 1/4. He walked over the Gryffindor table and sat down next to Ginny and across from Ron  
  
and Hermione. He loaded his plate down with food, then sat there staring at it. "You okay?" Ginny asked.  
  
"umm...I'm not very hungry. I'm gonna go down to the Quidditch pitch for some practice. I'll see you guys  
  
there." He muttered as he got up and walked out of the great hall.  
  
After about half an hour of practicing, members of the Gryffindor team as well as the Slytherin started showing  
  
up. Harry motioned for his team to go inside the locker rooms. Once everyone was seated, and Seamus had finally  
  
woken up, Harry started pacing in front of them. After a few minutes of pacing, Harry still couldn't think of  
  
anything to say that would sum his feelings up sufficiently. He heard Madame Hooch's whistel, which meant it  
  
was time to go out there. Harry sighed as he grabbed his broom and walked out onto the field. He was so  
  
nervous he hardly even noticed the huge roars of the croud.  
  
He shook hands with Malfoy, who had somehow gotten to be the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, and before he  
  
knew what was happening Madame Hooch's wistle blew again and everyone was up in the air. As soon as  
  
his feet left the ground all his fear and confusion faded away. He knew what he had to do now, and he knew  
  
that he was capable of doing it.  
  
He circled the pitch a few times with no sign of the golden Snitch. Parvati scored for Gryffindor,  
  
but after that Crabbe kicked her in the face. Gryffindor was awarded a penalty shot, and Seamus scored.  
  
Slytherin then scored to loud boos of most of the croud. Harry noticed suddenly that there was no sign  
  
of Malfoy anywhere and turned sharply around. Malfoy was behind him, trailing him closely. "The little  
  
weasel." Harry muttered to himself. He turned sharply to the left, and immediatly went into a dive. "And it  
  
looks like Potter's spotted the golden snitch!!" Came the voice of Colin Creevey, who was doing the  
  
announcements. "The two seekers and diving for the snitch, and there's no telling who will make it first!!!"  
  
The entire croud held their breathe, including the other fifteen Quidditch players. "Wait a minute...." Colin  
  
said just before Harry pulled sharply out of the dive, leaving Malfoy to crash into the ground. The majority  
  
of the croud stood up and cheered, but a small number of them hissed loudly. "And Potter pulls a beautiful  
  
Wonskey Feint!! Just as good as Krum's, that was. And in my opinion the little Slytherin jerk  
  
deserved..." He stopped here because McGonigall gave him a sharp nudge in the back. Malfoy left the  
  
field with a bloody nose and a broken wrist, a substitute was put in his place, and the game moved on. Harry  
  
could tell just by the way he flew that this seeker was much worse than the first. Harry grinned as he leaned  
  
forward on his Firebolt and zoomed across the Quidditch pitch.  
  
Several minutes passed without much excitement, during which Gryffindor scored three times and Slytherin  
  
scored twice. Suddenly Harry spotted the Snitch on the far side of the field. He bite his lip nervoulsy, unsure  
  
of what to do. The Slytherin seeker, no matter how much he lacked skill, was much closer to it than Harry  
  
was. So if Harry went for it now, the other seeker was sure to beat him to it. Harry got an idea,  
  
and before he could think of all the risks he was taking, he started zooming toward the snitch. The Slytherin  
  
Seeker saw him, and was about to turn around and go to where Harry was headed, when he stopped suddenly.  
  
Harry's plan was working. The enemy seeker grinned at Harry in a 'I know what you're doing' kind of way  
  
before zooming off to the opposite end of the field. He thought that Harry was trying to pull another Wonskey  
  
Feint. Harry reached down and grabbed the snitch easily, to humongous applause from all of the Gryffindor,  
  
Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students in the croud. Harry raised the fist holding the snich above is head in  
  
triumph. "And Potter gets the snitch! After an amazing game of brilliant plays by Potter, Gryffindor wins  
  
the cup!!" Colin Creevey was standing up, shouting much louder than neccessary considering his voice  
  
was already magnified. Harry saw a quick glimpse of the Slytherin seeker kicking a goal post rather violently  
  
before he felt himself being engulfed in a croud of happy Gryffindors.  
  
  
  
****************  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay here's chapter 9. I'm sorry if the Quidditch match is bad, it was hard to do it without copying  
  
off of the books. Oh and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me if you know how to keep the orignial formatting  
  
when you post stuff, I can't figure it out!!! HELP ME!!!! pleeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaase!!! This Sunday I'm going  
  
to summer camp and I'll be gone for a week, so I'm sorry I won't be able to post until I get back. Unless I can  
  
find time to do one more chapter before I leave. And if you have time please R & R my other stories, too.  
  
Thanks so much for reading my story!!! Please review!!! (pretty please!!)  
  
  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I'm getting tired of doing this!! I don't own Harry Potter J.K. Rowling does.  
  
thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!! Y'all are awesome!!  
  
Harry&Ginny4eva-Thanks for reviewing!! Please give me some idea for the next part if you have any!!  
  
Julephenia-thanks! I knew i was doing something wrong with that wronski feint thingy but didn't feel like getting up and checking the books.  
  
Anie- Thank you so much!  
  
la2ur2a-thank you!! I'm sorry this took me so long!!  
  
Daphne Black- thanks for trying to help me with the word thingy, but there was no word wrap in edit!!! I have a really old computer, it's a peice of junk really. but thanks for trying to help me! you're the only one who did!  
  
TheMonkeyStoldMyDad'sVisaCard-Thanks!!! I'll try to read your story sometime.  
  
ok that's all. OH AND IF ANYONE UPDATES THEIR STORY PLEASE TELL ME IN A REVEIW CUZ I DON'T HAVE TIME TO CHECK THEM ALL. thanks for everything!!!  
  
  
  
CHAPTER 10  
  
***************  
  
Several months later it was the day before final exams and everyone was sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast.  
  
Harry had thought that the O.W.L.'S were bad, but were nothing campared to the work load the teachers were laying on them now. Harry was glad that he no longer had Quidditch practice, his schedule was already packed full with studying.  
  
Today was the last Hogsmeade trip of the year, and Harry had asked Ginny to go with him. Just for today he was going to try very hard to forget about exams and Auror lessons, and just have fun. This had been getting harder and harder to do lately, because for some reason he felt that something was going to happen soon, something bad. His scar hurt at least three times a day, and he had nightmares every night. He tried to cast the feeling away, tried to assure himself that it was just from lack of sleep due to studying late into the night. But it did no good, and his apprehension only grew stronger as each day passed.  
  
But as Harry walked through the streets of Hogsmeade with Ginny, he found himself slowly relaxing and actually enjoying himself. Ginny giggled at a poster she saw hanging in Honeydukes. It showed a picture of a young boy eating a peice of purple candy, and in the next frame he had mutli-color hair. "I wonder what I would look like with hair like that!" she laughed. "Lets find out." Harry said as he pulled her inside the store.  
  
A few minutes later they came out, each carrying one of the purple candies. "You eat yours first." Ginny said through giggles. Harry popped the small sweet in his mouth, and after he chewed for a few seconds Ginny burst out laughing. "you-(laugh) look like-(laugh)- like a walking rainbow!!" She said while bending over and holding her side. Harry grinned. "Go on then, eat yours." After Ginny stopped laughing she ate her candy reluctantly. "How long do you think it takes to wear off?" She asked. But Harry was laughing too hard to answer. Ginny burst out laughing all over again as she looked at her reflection in a shop window. People passing by tried to throw disapproving looks at the young couple because of all the noise they were making, but ended up smiling instead.  
  
After a few minutes the spell wore off, and so did their did their laughter. After they had a butter beer at the Three Broom Sticks they decided to go to the shreiking shack, as Ginny had never been there before. Harry had already told Ginny all about his father being Animagus, Pettigrew betraying his parents, and Sirius being innocent.  
  
"It must be horrible for Remus, having to live like he does. People always shunning him because of what he is." Ginny said while they were standing in front of the Shreaking Shack, leaning on the rickety wooden fence that surrounded it. "Yeah," Harry said with a sigh. There was a few more minutes of silence, then Harry slowly reached over and wrapped his hand tightly around Ginny's. "Ginny," He whispered. She looked up at him and he felt his heart quicken as her eyes met his. 'She has the most beautiful eyes.' He thought to himself. "No matter what happens, I always want to be with you. Always." He whispered as he squeezed her hand. She smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.  
  
*************  
  
A few days later Harry was sitting in the Common room, staring into the fire with a text book sitting in front of him. He was thinking about a nightmare he had had last night. Once again he heard the familiar evil laugh echo through his head. "Harry? Harry? You okay?" Harry pulled his eyes away from the flames to see Ron sitting on the couch next to him. "What? I mean, yeah, yeah I'm fine. Fine." He muttered. "You sure? You've been acting really weird lately. At first I thought it was just these examse we've got coming up, but it's not, is it?" Ron asked. Harry sighed as he dropped his quil onto the table and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "No, no, it's not. I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen. My scar hurts a whole lot and I'm having nightmares more often than I ever have before. I don't know what all this means, but I do know that it's definitly not good." There was a few minutes of silence, during which both boys did an extensive amount of thinking. "Maybe you should tell Dumbledore." Ron suggested. "Yeah, I thought about that." Said Harry. "Yeah, that's what I'll do. I'll tell him tomorrow after breakfast." Harry said decidedly. "Okay, well I'm off to bed then." Said Ron with a yawn. "Why don't you skip studying tonight Harry, you look like you could use some rest." Ron said. "Yeah, ok." Answered Harry as he gathered up his school books and notes and followed his friend up the stairs.  
  
*************** The next morning after breakfast Harry caught up with Professor Dumbedore while he was leaving the Great Hall. "Professor, do yo have a moment? I need to talk to you about something." Harry asked. "Of course, Harry. Please follow me to my office."  
  
After they were both seated in Dumbledore's office, Harry wasn't exactly sure how to begin telling Dumbledore about this strange feeling he was having. 'Professor I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen.' No, that sounded stupid. Harry sighed as he stroked Fawke's smooth feathers. Something about the bird gave him courage and strength, just as it had so many years ago in his second year. Harry took a deep breathe, and without taking his eyes off of the scarlet pheonix, he told Dumbledore all about his fears. When he was done, Dumbledore just sat in his arm chair with his elbows resting on the table and his chin resting on his hands, the same position he'd been in since Harry had started his story. After a few minutes Dumbledore closed his eyes very tightly and sighed. "It is as I have feared for some time now. I don't know what to tell you Harry, because I myself am sure of nothing. One thing I do know is that Voldemort has gained back a large portion of his long lost power, and that everyone, especially you Harry, must be ready. I'm not sure what for, but I know that when he strikes, it will be with enough power to destroy everything that is good and just in this world. There is only one who may have the power to stand up the this evil, let us hope that he shall be ready." Harry assumed that Dumbledore was talking about Dumbledore himself when he mentioned the last part. Harry nodded mutely, still not sure of what to say. Dumbledore sighed again as he rubbed his eyes with his palms. "That will be all for now, Harry. Thank you for telling me about all of this, and if anything else out of the ordinary happens please inform me at once." Harry walked out of the room feeling more worried and confused then when he had entered it.  
  
After Harry told all of this to Ginny, Hermione and Ron a few hours later, there was again the same still silence as there had been with Dumbledore. Ron and Hermione were both staring hard at the floor. Harry turned and looked at Ginny, and she looked him straight in the eyes. He saw in her eyes fear and worry, much the same things that he was sure were shining in his own. She smiled, trying not to let Harry see her fear. "It'll be okay, Harry. It's not like he can do anything to seperate us, and that's all that matters, after all." She whispered. Harry smiled. She was so sweet when she tried to comfort him. She had no idea how much Voldemort could do, despite how much Harry, Dumbledore, or anyone else tried to stop him. He squeezed her hand and turned back to the fire so that she wouldn't see the tears that were welling up in his eyes.  
  
**************  
  
A/N: Sorry if this is boring, I'm kinda having problems thinking up ideas. aka-writers block. And I'm extrememly sorry that it took me so long to get this chapter up! FF.net wouldn't work for about a 2 or 3 months. please review, I wouldn't mind some ideas right about now! : )  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer:i don't own harry potter.  
  
A/N: ok don't get mad at me, but i've decided this is harry's 7th year now. i know, i know, i'm sorry. but it works out a lot better like this.  
  
thanks for the reviewers of chapter 10:  
  
Lana Riddle-Thanks! I know I need to make them longer, I'll try to start doing that.  
  
la2ur2a-thank you! chap. 13 of your story was great!  
  
Daphne Black-Yeah I don't know how I fixed it, I didn't even do anything! Oh well. thanks for the review!!  
  
Julephenia-lol, good job! :) thanks for reviewing!  
  
Keaira-Hey! I had so much fun with you! I miss you! Thanks for reviewing and sorry they won't let you put your ask frodo fic up. :(  
  
Keaira-haha, I know what you meant. :)  
  
Temporary Insanity-ok sorry about harry but how am i supposed to know what guys think?? yeah i know it's a bit mushy, ok A LOT mushy but i can't help it. thanks for reviewing, tho, it's nice to have people give you advice about how to write better.  
  
Billy (sportybill)-thanks! hey that's a great idea! lol.  
  
Ginny Starwind-Hey! Sorry I have to disagree with you, Malfoy is kinda evil. lol. it's all his dad's fault, though. :) Hope you weren't disapointed that the portkey didn't lead to a toaster. I thought about it but decided to stick with sanity. ;) Tell Whitles Hi for me!  
  
  
  
~chapter 11~  
  
*****  
  
The next morning at breakfast Harry and Ginny were sitting listening to Hermione and Ron's latest arguement:how fattening bacon was. Ron was trying to pig out on it and Hermione wouldn't let him, which didn't make Ron too happy. It was just getting interesting and starting to attract the attention of a few Gryffindors sitting by them when Dumbledore stood up and the whole Hall went silent, including Ron and Hermione, who were fighting over a peice of bacon. Dumbledore beamed down at them all, which relieved Harry's fear of bad news. "I am aware that you have all been studying extremely hard for the end of the year tests, those of you in the 7th and final year more so than anyone. Your tests are only a week away, and I have the pleasure of anouncing to you, that from this year forward, on the evening of the final exams the parents of the 7th year students will be coming to Hogwarts for a celebration feast." At this there was a loud murmuring, and it was rather hard to decipher wether this was considered good news or bad. "Next week, after your final examination, you may prepare for your parents arrival. Hogwarts will be open for apparation from 5:00 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. We will of course expect all of you, even those who's relations will not be coming, to be on your best behavior. It is to be considered as a sort of graduation party for those who will be leaving us. If there are any questions please ask your teachers, they are well informed of the situation. Thank you." And with a slight bow, he disappeared into one of the rooms behind the staff table.  
  
Ron and Hermione forgot completely about bacon and began whispering excitedly along with all the other students in the Hall. Harry, too, was excited, even though he didn't have any parents of his own, he would still get to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.  
  
********  
  
Harry woke up the next week full of excitement, as well as a strange sense of dread and fear. He tried to shake the feelings off as he climbed out of bed and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He looked at they clock by his bed. 5:45. He'd been getting up earlier and earlier each day for some time now, but never this early. It was probably because the nightmare that night had been more real and severe than any he'd ever had. He pushed it out of his mind as he walked across the cold dorm floor into the bathroom where he splashed cold water on his face. Sometimes this helped ease the burning of his scar. He got dressed quietly, trying not to wake Ron or any of the other 7th year boys. He wanted to be alone right now, he needed to find some place to relax, some place where he could think.  
  
He walked out of the dorm not knowing where he was planning to go. A few minutes later he found himself in front of the lake, half covered in fog. He plopped down on the dew covered grass with a sigh. He layed down and shut his eyes, hardly noticing as the back of his shirt was soaked by dew. He was more tired than he'd ever been in his life. 5 hours of sleep a night, combined with Auror lessons, didn't leave you much energy. He lay there, not asleep but not completely awake either, until the bell rang to begin classes for the day. He jumped up immediatly and ran with more energy than he believed he had a few seconds before. Just as he stumbled into Transfiguration he realized that he didn't have any of his books. Professor Mcgonagall looked at him with raised eyebrows, obviously asking him for an explanation. Harry was bent over with his hands on his knees, panting. "I'm sorry, Professor, I-I fell asleep by the lake, I didn't realize-" To Harry's surprise, Mcgonagall seemed to understand. She nodded and gave him permission to go get his books.  
  
Surprisingly, the exams weren't as bad as Harry had been expecting them to be. He was glad that all that studying wasn't turning out to be completely useless. As the bell rang to signal the end of charms, his final class, Harry felt strangely sad as he walked out of the room. His last Hogwarts class. He would never be in one of the classrooms again, at least not as a student. But soon the joy of absolute freedom overtook these sentiments and for the present pushed them completely out of his mind. He was finished with studying, with homework, and perhaps the most exciting thought of all, finished with potions. He ran upstairs with Ron and Hermione to drop of their books and hurry out to the grounds where they would meet Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and Hermione's parents.  
  
Soon they were all walking through Hogwarts. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley reliving old memories, and Hermione's parents taking a tour of the strange school. They walked through the entire school, everyone enjoying themselves exceedingly. They had been walking about 15 minutes and were about to turn a corner, when Harry felt his scar burn. It had only burned like this a few times in his whole life, and those were the few times that he had been in the actual presence of Lord Voldemort. Harry stopped and leaned against the wall for support, his hand pressed to his forehead. The others didn't notice and kept walking. That was how Harry wanted it, he didn't want to worry anyone, he knew very well how Mrs. Weasley would take on. He waited a few seconds and the pain seeemed to lessen, but not disappear immediatlly. He took a deep breathe and went to catch up with the others. Ron saw him walk up. "Hey, where were you?" He asked. "Had to tie my shoe." Harry lied. He had to work hard to keep from wincing in pain.  
  
****  
  
A few hours later they were all sitting comfortably in the Great Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Granger staring in awe at the magical ceiling while Hermione was explaining rapidly to them about transfiguration. Harry's scar was still stinging dully. He had found time to run up the the hospital wing and get some headache medicine from Madame Pomfrey, and that had seemed to help a bit. He had told Ron, Ginny and Hermione, about it and they agreed with him that they probably shouldn't mention it to their parents, he could just write to Sirius about it later.  
  
The whole hall was ringing with noise and laughter as the older students tried to tell the whole years happenings to their parents. As Harry listened to Ron's account of the Slytherin vs. Gryffindor Quidditch match, he felt the pain in his scar increase slightly. He winced and was taking out the bottle of headache medicine Madame Pomfrey had given him, when his head suddenly burst with pain. It was worse even than it had been in the halls, it was complete and utter agony. He couldn't control himself, he screamed. He screamed so loud and so clearly that the entire hall went silent and every face turned towards him. He was gripping his forehead, trying without success to relieve the awful pain. He stumbled off of the bench. He had to warn them.  
  
He looked up at the staff table and was dimly aware of Dumbledore, standing up and staring at him with concern. "Get out." Harry whispered. "GET OUT!!" He screamed as the pain intensified still more. "NOW! EVERYONE GET OUT!! HE'S COMING!!" Nobody moved. Why didn't they leave? "Harry, what's wrong? Who's coming?" Dumbledore asked. It seemed to Harry as though his voice was coming from a distance, it echoed strangely in his head. "It's him." Harry said quietly, though it sounded loud in the silent hall. "It's him. Please, everyone needs to leave. It isn't safe. He's coming." Harry was just rambling now. He couldn't think properly through the pain. He saw his medicine sitting on the table by his plate, and he hurridly picked it up and swallowed the whole bottle. Though it didn't help the pain much it seemed to clear his mind a little more. "VOLDEMORT IS COMING EVERYONE NEEDS TO LEAVE!!!" He screamed. But before anyone even had time to panic, the great double doors flew open and a solitary robed figure stepped inside. "Nice try, Harry." Came the hissing voice from the hooded face.  
  
*****  
  
A/N: Ok it kinda gets interesting here. Sorry about that huge break, but I'm gonna start it up again and try to post regularly now. Please review!! thx!  
  
~Katydid 


	12. Chapter 12

Dislcaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling does. (I'm getting SO tired of saying that!!!)  
  
Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!!-  
  
Severus Snape: Okaaay.....lol. I believe you. Thanks for reviewing! :)  
  
Videl86: Thanks for reading my story! I'm glad you actually wanna know what's gonna happen....  
  
Shattered Angel: Wow! You're so sweet! I'll try and get the next chapter up fast for you. ;)  
  
la2ur2a: Hey! Thanks so much! I'm sooo sorry that I took so long with this!  
  
Ok that's it. Y'all are awesome! Thanks sooo much! :)  
  
~Chapter 12~  
  
*******  
  
Before anyone could do anything Voldemort had shot a strange glowing liquid out of his wand and formed it into a huge dome-shaped shield around him, which completely covered the empty middle section of the Great Hall. Dumbledore and the rest of the teachers all tried throwing curses at it but Voldemort just laughed at them. Lupin tried to open the doors but found that they had all been locked, and all the windows boarded up, too. Everyone finally seemed to understand what was happening, and getting up from their seats, started screaming in unison. "Everyone please remain calm." Dumbledore said cooly. He was staring straight at Voldemort with a cold, hatefull glint in his eyes. Everyone sat down again and the hall went quiet, but there was still panic, fear and confusion shining in everyone's eyes.  
  
Harry knew he should be panicing too, like everyone else, but for some strange reason he felt perfectly calm. He wasn't scared, he was just angry. Angry at Voldemort for ruining his life, and now coming back to try and do it again. All Harry wanted was to be happy, to live his life like he wanted, peacefully. But Voldemort had taken away everything and everyone that could have ensured that for him. Harry felt an intense, overwhelming hate boiling up inside him. He knew why Voldemort was here, he was here for him, Harry. For the second time in his life, Harry actually wanted to kill somebody. Actually felt enough hate to end someone's life. The feeling scared Harry a little bit, but it also gave him enough courage to do what he had to do.  
  
Harry pulled his wand out of his pocket and gripped it tightly in his hand. Ginny saw him and looked up at him confusedly. "Harry what are you...." She stopped when he turned to look at her and she saw the look in his eyes. They were shining with raw hatred and anger. "Harry, no! Don't go out there! He'll kill you, you know he will!" She screamed as she stood up. Everyone in the hall turned to them. Harry knew she was right, of course Voldemort would kill him. That was the only reason he was even here. But Harry had to try and stall him, maybe give Dumbledore enough time to figure out how to get everyone out. He opened his mouth to say something, but choked on his own words. He didn't want to die, he didn't want to leave Ginny alone, didn't want to leave the world not knowing what would happen to her and everyone he cared about. "I have to." He whispered. She was crying now."No....NO!" She screamed as he turned and walked up to the large bubble-like encasement that Voldemort was standing in.  
  
He knew Voldemort would allow him through the shield, so he picked up his foot and simply walked through. Everyone looked fuzzy and unclear from inside, but Harry could see Ginny in her mothers arms, hear her cry, even see the tears flowing down her face. He turned and faced Voldemort. The wizard slowly lowered his hood to reveal that horrible face that had tortured Harry's nightmares for years. He was smiling. Harry felt is scar searing with pain, but tried to push it away as he walked to the middle of the enclosure and faced Voldemort again. Harry wished he would stop smiling.  
  
"Well done, Harry, well done." Voldemort hissed through his thin lips. "You look just like your father, standing there, the same way he faced me all those years ago." He chuckled to himself as if relishing some favorite memory. "What do you want?" Harry asked under his breath. "Want? What do I want? I think you know the answer to that, Harry." Harry gripped his wand tighter with his sweaty hand. "Then lets go somewhere less...public." He tried. Harry didn't want all the first years to see him get murdered. Many of them would be traumatized for the rest of their lives. And he didn't want Ginny, Ron, and Hermione to watch him die, either. "No, no that wouldn't do." Voldemort said as he started to pace back and forth. "You see, the main reason I came tonight was because I knew that Hogwarts would be open to apparation for a small amount of time, but it was also because I want the world to know. I want them to know that Harry Potter, their 'hero', their 'savior', was just a boy who managed to get lucky a few times in his short life. I want them to know who the most powerful wizard in the world really is, and by killing you in front of them..." He waved his hand around the Great Hall. "They'll have no choice but to be convinced of it. Stupid of Dumbledore, really, to open the school as he did. All I had to do was create this spell to use which has no counter curse, and apparate in. Easier than I thought it would be, actually. Well, now to the point."  
  
He stopped pacing a few feet away from Harry, directly in front of him. "But I'm afraid the point would be lost if I killed you in cold blood, though that would be much easier. I think it would be better if we had a little duel, to prove who is more powerful. Do you know how to duel, Harry? I remember that little run-in we had back in your fourth year, but you didn't seem to have a clue what you were doing then. I hoped you've learned." His lips curled into a small smirk. Harry was too angry to speak. He gripped his wand tighter and, backing up a little bit, placed himself in the duel stance. "Well I see you haven't wasted your time completely." Voldemort also placed his feet in the duel position. "Shame I'll have to kill you, really, everything else will bore me. Besides Dumbledore, you're the only one who was actually ever a challenge, if it's any consolation to you."  
  
It wasn't. They nodded to eachother stiffly, neither taking their eyes from the other's, then the duel began. Before Harry even had time to decide which spell to use first Voldemort had fired. The cruciatus curse hit Harry full in the stomach. It felt as if someone was tearing his skin off. He groaned and bent over slightly with his arms around his stomach. He couldn't fall down. He remembered what Remus taught him about the cruciatus curse, the most important thing was to remain standing and try and distract the oponet with a curse to make him stop the spell, that was the only way to end it. Harry saw Voldemort raising his wand to finish him off. "Expelliarmus!" Harry whispered. Voldemort's wand shot out of his hand and the pain cleared instantly. He stood up straight again and inhaled deeply. Voldemort used wandless magic to pull his wand back. "Clever Harry, clever. Impendimo!" Voldemort threw another spell, but this time Harry was ready. "Armetia!" He yelled with his wand held above his head. It was the basic blocking spell, and the curse bounced off Harry's temporary shield and vanished.  
  
This time Harry reacted before Voldemort could and tried a body-bind curse that usually worked on Remus. Of course, Remus wasn't the most powerful wizard in the world. Voldemort blocked it with the same spell that Harry had used earlier, and then conjured up hundreds of tiny whirling blades that flew straight at Harry. Knowing that the blocking curse was useless on physical objects, Harry put a speed spell on himself and tried to dodge them. A couple still hit him, though, one grazed his arm and another cut his leg pretty deeply. Harry countered, and the battle continued.  
  
The students watching, even the parents and teachers, were in awe. Both of the dueling figures moved with reflexes so fast, and with such control and power, that everyone found it hard to follow what was happening. The students couldn't believe that this boy had been going to classes with them, had actually walked with them through the same halls and rooms. This boy was putting up a fight to Voldemort. The wizard who no one had been able to challenge like this, no one had been able to duel man to man with him and actually last more than two minutes. The parents and teachers, except for Lupin and Dumbledore, didn't even know half of the spells that were used by either Voldemort or Harry.  
  
There were still tears streaming down Ginny's face, and she cringed everytime that Harry nearly got hit with something. Ron and Hermione were both deathly pale, and Mrs. Weasley was shaking violently. "Always knew that boy was going to be something." Mr. Weasley muttered as he tried to comfort his wife and watch the figures fighting in the middle of the room. Every spell that either one yelled, every scream of frustration or shout of triumph, echoed through the Hall.  
  
Harry felt strangely exhilarated. 'Dodge, attack, block, counter', it all felt so natural to him. After so long of living in a world where he never felt like he belonged, never had a home to call his own, he felt as if this was where he belonged. This just seemed right to him, he didn't even have to think, he simply acted. 'Dodge, counter'. He felt like laughing, but didn't because it would have put him off his guard. He grinned as he blocked yet another spell.  
  
After several hours of it continuing on like this, Harry's excitement wore off. He was exhausted. Voldemort, too, was slowing down and losing some of his quickness and energy. But Harry knew, as did everyone watching, that Voldemort would be able to last longer. Voldemort know, too. Harry felt like he was about to collapse from weariness. The only thing keeping him standing was his hatred for Voldemort, was his memory of what he had done to his life, and the knowledge that as soon as Voldemort finished him, he would start killing everyone in the hall, one by one. He would probably spare a few students or weak parents, just so that they could tell the world what had happened. Tell the world that Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore, the only two people in the world who had ever slowed Voldemort down, were now dead.  
  
"Imperio!" Voldemort yelled. Harry fought it. "Crucio!" Voldemort tried again. Harry put the speed spell on himself again and dodged it. He could defend, but he was now too tired to attack. He stood, panting, wait for Voldemort's next move. But it didn't come. Voldemort was standing directly oposite him, exactly how they had started. He too was panting hard, his glowing eyes fixed on Harry's. They stood a few mintues like this, glaring at eachother.  
  
"Well...I must admit I hadn't expected anything like that. I think we could go on all night like that, but we both know, Harry, that in the end, I would come out the strongest. You may have a lot of strength, and been trained by an excellent teacher, but the fact remains that you lack the experience, the first-hand knowledge. Something that I have plenty of." Voldemort grinned at him triumphently. "Well then." Harry said as he raised his wand and returned to the duel position. "No, wait." Voldemort held up his hand. "We would just be wasting our time." He stood staring at Harry for a few more minutes. Harry stared defiantly back. He didn't know what Voldemort was getting at, but if he expected Harry to just back down and allow himself to be murdered, he was wrong. "I've dueled many, many times in my life Harry. I've dueled with great wizards and weak wizards. More times than you or anyone else can even imagine. And out of all those, not one of them lasted more than five minutes." A few seconds of silence followed. "I'm going to make you an offer, Harry." He began pacing again. I will spare your life, if you will join me." Harry's mouth fell open in shock. "What?" He almost yelled. "Join you? I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN EVER HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU!!! I HATE YOU!!!"  
  
Voldemort chuckled and held up his hand to silence him. "Not so fast, Potter. You think I don't know how you feel about me? I can see the hatred shining in your eyes. But after all, Harry, hate is the very base of power. I myself wouldn't be anything without hate."  
  
'Of course I'll never join him.' Harry thought to himself. 'He destroyed my family, destroyed my life. And if I joined him, countless other innocent families and lives would be destroyed, just like mine. Well, they will be anyway, wether I join him or die.' He thought sadly. In a way, Harry was slightly, SLIGHTLY tempted to do as Voldemort said. The rush of energy and ease that he felt when dueling would be almost a daily enjoyment. But Harry pushed the thought out of his head almost as soon as it had entered. If he joined Voldemort, everything that his parents and so many others had died for, would be lost. No, it was out of the question.  
  
"I don't think you quite understand your own abilities, Harry." Voldemort continued. But I have made a quick evaluation of them. If you dueled Dumbledore, you would win. Do you know what that means, boy? That means you are the second most powerful human being on earth. Second only to me. You can't even imagine the great things we could do together! The world would be ours! Everything you ever wanted would be at your fingertips!" Voldemort was right in front of Harry now. Harry saw his red eyes shining with greed and hatred as he talked. "Name something, Harry, what do you want? Whatever you want, it would be yours before you even had to ask for it." Voldemort whispered. Harry stepped backwards. "Anything?" He asked coldly. Voldemort smiled as he whispered "Anything". He thought he had him. "I want my parents back." Harry said in a voice so cold that it couldn't have been any more threatening if he had screamed it. Voldemort stopped smiling instantly and backed away from Harry.  
  
"Fool of a boy!" He spat icely. "Think of what we could do! No one would be able to stand in our path!" Harry felt his own face turn red with anger. "I will never join you!!" He screamed. "YOU KILLED MY PARENTS!!! It's your fault that I had to spend my life with people who hate me! It's your fault that no matter where I go, I don't feel safe! It's your fault that my life has been a living nightmare from the second my mother fell to the floor! YOU RUINED MY LIFE!!! I HATE YOU!!" Harry felt his knees  
  
trembling with rage. He wanted to jump on Voldemort, wanted to curse him, wanted to do anything he possibly could to hurt him. "Hate, Harry? But don't you see? Hate is the only way to power! You are already on your way! Without hate, we would be nothing." Voldemort whispered. "Yes Harry, I did kill your parents. But you will soon learn that things like that can't be avoided, if one is to achieve real power. Compassion is a weakness, a weakness which must be overcome. And I have no doubt that I will soon teach you how to overcome it, just come with me." Harry shook his head, trying to fight back tears of anger. "No." He whispered with decided determination. "Harry, don't be stupid. I don't want to kill you, if there's anything I hate it's wasting potential power."  
  
"I WILL NEVER HELP YOU!!!" Harry screamed. Voldemort's eyes glittered with rage. "Very well." He whispered. He was raising his wand slowly when someone in the audience caught his eye. He thought for a moment, then grinned with a look in his eyes that made Harry feel very uneasy. "Pretty little girlfriend you have there, Potter." He sneered.  
  
*******  
  
A/N:Hey! I hope this isn't too repetitive, with all the spells and stuff. The next chapter should be up some time next week. Please review!! I'd really appreciate it! Thanks! ~Katydid 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer:I don't own any of these characters. Only the plot. The rest belongs to J.K.  
  
Thanks SO much to everyone who reviewed last time!!-  
  
videl86:Thanks! Yeah and there's gonna be another cliffhanger in this chapter! lol.  
  
dabbler-Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked the 'action scene', I'm really not good at that kind of thing, though.  
  
shdurrani:Hey! Yeah like I said I forgot about that. It's kinda too late to change it now, though, so I guess I won't. Thanks!  
  
Jessica:Thank you! I'm glad you like it! :)  
  
la2ur2a: lol yeah I guess. Thank you so much! Hey that's great about your story, can you please tell me when the next chapter is up?  
  
QuidBrm: Thanks for reviewing! :)  
  
*~Thank y'all so much!!!!!~*  
  
Chapter 13  
  
**********  
  
Harry felt the pit of his stomach twist with fear. There had deffinatly been a tone of threat in Voldemort's voice.  
  
"Maybe she would like to join us." He hissed again, pointing his wand towards Ginny with a slight grin on his mutated face.  
  
Now Harry felt like panicing. It didn't matter what Voldemort did to him, but when he brought Ginny into it, it was something completely different.  
  
"You wouldn't dare." Harry said through clenched teeth.  
  
"I've dared to do a lot of things in my life, Potter. Most of them much worse than this." Voldemort said with a chuckle.  
  
Harry felt himself start to shake with rage and fear. "Leave her out of this." He said in an almost pleading tone.  
  
Voldemort grinned and turned back to Ginny, his wand pointed toward her. "Imperio!" He muttered softly. Apparently spells could go out from the inside, but not in from the outside. Harry turned to look at the table where he had been sitting peacefully just a few hours ago. Ginny's eyes glazed over as she stood up and began walking towards Harry and Voldemort. Her parents and several teachers, including Dumbledore, attempted to break the curse, but Voldemort merely placed a shield around her, almost an exact replica of the one in the middle of the room, only much smaller. Ginny continued to walk towards the middle of the Hall. "No," Harry whispered to himself desperatly.  
  
He could see her trying to struggle, trying to fight the curse, but she wasn't strong enough. She halted right in front of the enclosure, swaying slowly back and forth for a few seconds, before stepping through. "NO!" Harry screamed. As soon as she was inside, the curse stopped and the shield dissapeared.  
  
She turned to look at him, and he felt his heart ache when he saw her beautiful blue eyes so full of fear. They were slowly brimming over with tears. More than anything Harry wanted her out of that thing and somewhere far away, somewhere safe. And what hurt even more than seeing her so scared, was the knowledge that it was all his fault. That if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't even be in such danger. He tried to blink away his own tears as he turned to face Voldemort again, trying to bring back the courage and determination that he'd had so much of only a few minutes before.  
  
"Well, Harry, this makes things a bit more complicated, doesn't it?" Voldemort hissed with a grin.  
  
Harry didn't answer, he only stared back at the glittering red eyes with anger.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes." Voldemort said as he started pacing back and forth. "If you refuse to join me now, you will have to see her murdered right before your eyes. But, if you agree, perhaps we can spare your little friend's life."  
  
Harry almost felt like laughing. How stupid did Voldemort think he was? "Lier." He spat. "If I join you then you won't be able to afford to let anyone here live, you wouldn't want anyone else to know that you now had me on your side too. That way you could take them by surprise, or still use me for something without me being suspected."  
  
Voldemort actually threw back his head and laughed at this. "Smart, Harry. Yes I suppose that's what I'd do. Can't have little girls running around destroying my plans now, can I?"  
  
Harry felt like jumping on him, like strangling the life out of those glowing eyes. But he knew that Voldemort would kill him before he even got close enough to touch him, and Harry figured the longer he stayed alive, the longer Ginny stayed alive.  
  
"Well then, lets just say that if you join me, at least you won't have to watch her die. Then you can be far away, that would be easier for you, wouldn't it Harry?"  
  
Harry hated how Voldemort spoke to him as if they were on friendly terms. Calling him Harry, as if there had never been any reason for them to dislike eachother.  
  
Harry quickly took in the choice that he had to make here. If he joined Voldemort, Ginny would die, everyone here would die. If he didn't, then Voldemort would still kill everyone, including himself. But if Harry helped him, then countless other people would lose their lives from their joined forces. Voldemort's powers would be increased, and he would be even more unstopable than he had been before. As much as it pained Harry to think of it for Ginny's sake, he knew he only had one decision. He would never join Voldemort.  
  
"Well, Harry? Me and your pretty girlfriend are waiting." Voldemort hissed.  
  
Harry turned to look at Ginny. She knew what that determined look in his eyes meant, he was going to refuse. Of course he was. That was the right thing to do. She couldn't fight the tears anymore, but she managed to give him a small smile, trying to encourage him and let him know that he was doing the right thing. Harry almost started crying himself as he looked at her trying so hard to smile through the tears that were streaming steadily down her face.  
  
As she stared into his bright green eyes she saw something besides just determination. She saw love. Love for her. She felt a fresh wave of tears as she thought of how much she loved him too. She tried not to think of what this meant. This was good bye. She had dreamed so many times of walking down the aisle to meet him, dreamed of them playing with their child together, of growing old together.  
  
Harry forced the tears back as he turned to face Voldemort. "I will never join you. Never." He said in a low, calm voice filled with determination.  
  
Voldemort's eyes flashed with anger. He had been sure that the girl with red hair would be able to convince him.  
  
"Very well." He said with a voice so filled with rage that it shook. He raised his wand till it was pointing straight at Ginny. "We could have been great, Potter. But I'll manage perfectly fine without you." He hissed.  
  
"Avada Kedavra."  
  
The words seemed to echo strangely in Harry's head. 'If she dies, it will be all my fault.' He thought. 'She can't die, she can't. I can't live without her. If only I knew how to apparate!' He thought with frustration. He closed his eyes tightly, wishing with all his heart that he was standing in Ginny's place.  
  
He opened his eyes to find himself standing in front of Ginny, facing a strange green light that was quickly soaring toward him. Harry could dimly see Voldemort behind the light, his wand pointed straight at him. Harry covered his face with his arms as the bright green light filled his vision and seemed to wrap itself around him and surround him completely.  
  
**********  
  
A/N: Wow, talk about a cliff hanger! I know it's WAY too short, I orignally had this chapter and the next one as one chapter, but I thought it would be better this way. The next chapter should be up pretty soon since I already have most of it written. I already had like the entire story in my head before I started writing it, but it takes a little bit longer to put it into words. Anyway, hey y'all are doing great with the reviews! lol. Oh and my friend has a story called 'Pain Doesn't Last Forever',(or something like that) and I'd really appreciate it if you'd check it out! Her pen name is Eowyn. (She's in my favorite authors list.) Ok well I guess that's all. Pleeeaase review! I really wanna break 100, but I don't think I'm going to. Ok, well, thanks!  
  
~Katydid~ 


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: *rolls eyes* I don't own any of this.  
  
Thanks SO much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!!  
  
ZaylaMoon: haha, thanks. I guess.....lol. : )  
  
shdurrani: hey! thanks a lot! and hurry up w/ your story, k?  
  
Tinabedina: thank you so much!! I'm glad you liked the chapter!  
  
Ali Lee: wow! thanks a lot! hurry up and post the next chap in your love always story! i look at it like every day to see if you have it up! hey, you belong on everyone's fav. authors list girl!  
  
AoibhellEvil: okaaay, well thanks! haha...i love you 2......  
  
la2ur2a: ok, cool. hurry and get it up, tho! thanks for reviewing my story so much!  
  
Thank y'all SO much! Y'all rock. haha. ok here's the next chapter. Sorry it's so short. I really am. : )  
  
Chapter 14  
  
*********  
  
It felt as if the light was pulling him down, trying to force him to the ground. 'No,' He thought meekly, trying to fight it off. 'No...if I die, then he'll kill Ginny. I can't let that happen. Ginny is too young and innocent to die, it wouldn't be fair. I can't let anything happen to her. I can't.' He was struggling to remain standing. Every second his knees felt weaker and weaker. 'Please,' He begged silently, without knowing who or what he was begging to. 'Please, I love her...' He thought desperatly.  
  
Just as he felt he wouldn't be able to hold out a second longer, the pressure went away. He opened his eyes to find the green light slowly fading away and growing dim. He had no idea what had just happened. He tried to make his hands stop shaking. He turned around to see Ginny standing behind him, perfectly healthy. She was staring at him with shock and amazment. Harry turned around again to face Voldemort and found he was looking back at him with the same expressions that had been on Ginny's face. Harry looked around quickly to find his wand, which he must have dropped sometime during the confusion.  
  
He found it and pulled it into his hand with wandless magic. "Expelliarmus!" He shouted with it aimed straight at Voldemort. Harry's aim was better this time, and Voldemort's wand went flying into His own hand. Voldemort was still in too much shock to react immediatly. Harry used a quick, simple spell to put him flat on his back and tied him up tightly with a few more spells.  
  
He pocketed Voldemort's wand and walked slowly toward the wizard lying on the floor, his own wand arm outstretched. Voldemort was too smart to struggle, he knew it wouldn't do any good. He simply lay there, staring up at the very boy who he had come to kill.  
  
Harry's hand stopped shaking and remained perfectly still as he pointed it at the man who killed his parents, threatened to kill his girlfriend, basically destroyed his whole life. He had no idea what had just happened, he knew he should be dead right now, and he also did knew that this was his chance for the revenge he had wanted for so long.  
  
"What-what just happened?" Voldemort asked in a voice very unlike his own. It was actually shaking with fear and confusion.  
  
"I don't know." Harry said, his voice shaking slightly despite how much he was trying not to let it.  
  
"Why aren't you dead?" Voldemort asked again in the same quivering voice as before.  
  
"I don't know." Harry answered.  
  
There was a few minutes of silence, during which Voldemort was trying to regain his composure, and Harry was trying to decide if he should kill him or not.  
  
"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" Voldemort finnaly asked, his voice sounding much stronger, back to it's usual icy tone.  
  
Harry didn't answer right away. He didn't know what he was going to do.  
  
"You don't deserve to live." He said after a few mintues.  
  
"No, perhaps not." Voldemort said with an almost careless tone.  
  
After a few more minutes Harry decided that it would be better to just hand Voldemort over to the Ministry. He would suffer more that way, anyway. And they might be able to get some information out of him, about who his followers were. Harry lowered his wand slowly. But instead of looking relieved at this, Voldemort seemed upset.  
  
"I killed your parents, Harry! Remeber what I did to you! I was about to kill your girlfriend!" He said in a very desperate voice, once again lacking it's usual composure.  
  
Harry was confused at first, but then realized that Voldemort had actually wanted Harry to kill him. He would rather that happen then have to go to the Ministry, have to face the humiliation of a trial. And everyone knew that death was much better than the dementors kiss, which would undoubtedly be Voldemort's fate, and Voldemort himself knew it.  
  
Harry only wanted to ask him one more thing before handing him over to the Ministry.  
  
"Why?" He whispered.  
  
Voldemort waited a few seconds before answering.  
  
"Because I was bored. I knew I had great power, and was tired of hiding it."  
  
Harry stood staring at him. 'Bored?' He thought. Countless people dead, thousands of families destroyed, so many lives ruined, all because he got bored. His hands started shaking again. He turned around quickly, trying to fight off the temptation that was flowing back into him to kill the cause of so much sorrow and pain. He walked over to Ginny, still trying to fight the anger that was building up inside him.  
  
"You ok?" He asked gently as he tucked a stray whisp of hair behind her ear. She opened her mouth to say something, but just nodded instead. Harry bent down and kissed her forehead softly. He was relieved to see that she no longer looked afraid, though she did still look very confused.  
  
He stepped back and looked up at the shimmering shield that was still surounding them. He held up his own wand and tried several basic shattering spells. Then he realized that of course Voldemort would have set the shield only to react to his own wand.  
  
Harry took Voldemort's wand out of his pocket with a trembling hand. This was the very same wand that had obeyed the command to kill Lily and James Potter. The same wand that had murdered countless people. The same wand that had given him his scar. As he thought about this he instinctively brought his hand up to his forehead to touch his scar. He suddenly realized that it was still burning painfully. He had forgotten about it completely until now.  
  
He swallowed the lump that was rising in his throat and raised the wand above his head. He paused for a moment, not really wanting to use this wand. He could feel the power surging through it, it almost felt as if the wand itself was vibrating with it's own immense power. Ginny guessed what he was thinking, and stepped up to give his hand a small squeeze.  
  
"Shavartia" He said loudly, in a voice that sounded much more calm and composed than he felt.  
  
The Great Hall boomed with the sound of breaking glass. The huge shield shattered into millions of tiny shimmering shards, and for a few seconds the air was filled with what appeared to be thousands of miniature glittering rainbows. Before anyone had a time to gasp at it's strange beauty, before the shards even fell to the ground, they had dissapeared into thin air.  
  
**********  
  
A/N:I know this one's short, too! But like I said it was originally part of chapter 13. Well, please tell me what you think in a review! I'm thinking I might should have drawn it out a little more or something. I dunno. Anywho, thanks so much for reading this! The next chapter should be up pretty quick, in a few days or so. Please review!  
  
~Katydid~ 


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I own none of this.  
  
shdurrani-Well he does kind want to kill V, but decides not to. I dunno. Hey I hope your surgery goes good!  
  
la2ur2a-haha, sorry! thanks for reviewing and sorry this chap took so long!  
  
Starry Eyed GIrl-hey! don't worry about it I lost track of everything when ffnet went down, too. I stopped writing for like a month. thanks for reviewing again, though! and thanks for your suggestions! that was a good idea about the death eaters being outside, but I already had this written when I got your review and i was too lazy to change anything. thanks again, though!  
  
gundamhardcore-I love getting new reviewers! haha. thanks so much!  
  
Thanks again! Y'all are so special. haha. sorry i'm tired.  
  
Chapter 15  
  
~*~*~*~*~*  
  
It took a few seconds for everyone's vision to be cleared of the tiny white spots of light. When Harry was finally able to open his eyes, the first thing he saw was Dumbledore's sea blue ones staring straight into his own. The expression in his eyes was strange and unfamiliar to Harry, but if he had to make a guess at it, he would have thought it was something like pride. The old wizard nodded his bearded head slowly in a gesture of respect.  
  
Harry felt someone tap him on the arm, and turned to find Madame Pomfrey with an impatient look in her eyes.  
  
"Come along, Mr. Potter. Got to get you cleaned up."  
  
She was already holding Ginny's arm with her other hand, even though nothing appeared to be wrong with her.  
  
"Oh, I'm fine, really." Harry said. He really didn't fell like going to the hospital wing right now, and he really did feel fine. He had a few cuts and bruises but they were really all very minor.  
  
"Oh and you're just going to parade around with your face covered in blood, are you?" She sounded almost angry now.  
  
"What?" Harry muttered as he raised his hand to his face. He was surprised to find his cheek covered in a wet, sticky substance. He had an enormous gash across his right cheek.  
  
"Where did that come from?" He said without realizing he'd even said it aloud.  
  
He looked over to where he had left Voldemort. The figure on the floor, still tied up tightly, was surounded by the Hogwarts teachers, as well as several parents, who all had their wands pointed straight at him. Despite the ten something wizards surrounding Voldemort, Harry still didn't feel comfortable. This was too easy.  
  
"I really don't want to...." Harry started, turning back to Madame Pomfrey. But before he could finish, the Great Hall was suddenly filled with the confused yells of the wizards who had been gaurding Voldemort. Before Harry even looked, he knew what had happened. He had been stupid to think that a few ropes could hold Lord Voldemort, wether he had his wand or not. He turned to see what everyone in the Great Hall was gasping at in horror. The ropes were lying limply on the ground. Voldemort had vansished.  
  
Harry groaned as he buried his face in a trembling hand, ignoring the fact that his hand was slowly getting soaked in his own blood from the cut on his cheek.  
  
"Come now, Harry. Up to the hospital wing. I'll stay here and try to sort out this mess and calm everyone down, but I'll be up in a few minutes. We have a lot to talk about, I think." Dumbedlore said as he patted Harry gently on the shoulder.  
  
Harry didn't understand how he could talk like that. So calmly. For a few precious minutes they had had Voldemort in their grasp, and now he was gone again. But before Harry could say anything to him, Dumbedlore turned to talk to some frantic parent, and Harry found himself being lead away by a determined Madame pomfrey.  
  
Harry suddenly realized that Voldemort's wand was still in his left hand. He stopped before they had even made it out of the double doors and took his own wand out of his pocket with his other hand. Some how he knew what to do. He joined his own wand and Voldemort's at their tip's, and began muttering an incantation. He didn't even know how he knew it, the words just seemed to pour out of his mouth as if someone else were in control of his body.  
  
Hearing the strange incatations, everyone stopped asking eachother questions that no one even knew the answer to, and turned to look at Harry. After a few seconds of seemingly meaningless rambling, Harry's voice got stronger and clearer. He was speaking in a very quiet tone, but his words had a sort of strength and authority in them that made his voice seem to echo around the huge room. There was a brilliant white light surrounding him, growing brighter every second.  
  
Finally, with even more clarity and strength than all the others, Harry muttered the final word of the strange spell. As the last word left his mouth, the blinding light expanded rapidly until it filled the whole hall, before disappearing completly. Voldemort's wand snapped in two with an echoing crack. Harry stared penetratingly at the two peices of wood. He kept thinking about his parents. Had he let them down by not killing Voldemort? He'd had a chance to avenge their deaths, and he'd thrown it away like a coward.  
  
He felt his eyes begin to fill with tears as he looked at the shards in his hand. Just two peices of wood. He felt the familiar surge of anger come flooding back into him. He threw the broken wand to the ground. Hard. He turned back to the door, but before he was even out the room, the shards turned into ash with a soft hissing whisper that only Harry could understand. But he just continued on his way to the Hospital wing, not even turning around to watch as the piles of ash disappeared into the ground.  
  
****************  
  
"I don't know what we're coming to these days." Madame Pomfrey said in a scolding voice as she took out her wand and began healing some of Harry's minor cuts.  
  
"Children taking on powerful wizards like there was nothing to it. Seems to me like they should teach less facts in these schools, and more common sense."  
  
Harry and Ginny gave eachother a small smile. Ginny was sitting on the hospital bed next to the one that Harry was sitting on while Madame Pomfrey closed his wounds. The cuts all healed perfectly, not even leaving scars.  
  
"Still," She continued. "You're a brave fellow, aren't you? Had you in here more often than any other student in the school. Had your father in here an awful lot, too. Always banging himself up in Qudditch matches and the like. Guess it runs in the Potter blood." Her eyes filled with tears as she said the last part, and she had to turn away to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.  
  
"There now. You're about done, except for this cheek of yours." She said as she turned back to Harry and began wiping some of the blood from his face with a towel. She raised her wand and muttered the healing spell that she had used for all the other cuts, but the purple sparks that it emitted simply faded into the cut, instead of healing it as it had done all the others.  
  
"Oh now what's wrong." She said with a frustrated voice. She raised her wand again, preparing to try the spell a second time, but was stopped by a voice coming from the doorway.  
  
"I doubt that will work, Poppy. Best not to waste your time. Just patch it up a bit." Dumbledore said as he walked into the room.  
  
Madame Pomfrey threw him a confused look, but followed his orders anyway, placing a bandage on Harry's cheek. She then handed him two small bottles filled with potions, one was blue and the other was green.  
  
"Drink the blue one now, dear, it helps dull the pain of the after effects of the cruciatus curse. The green one is for dreamless sleep, keep that one for tonight. I have a feeling you might need it."  
  
Harry nodded before drinking the entire blue bottle in one gulp. She then turned to Ginny, giving her the same two bottles and giving her the same orders. After Ginny had swallowed the contents of her blue bottle, Madame Pomfrey told them to lie down for a few hours.  
  
"What?" Ginny and Harry said in unison. They both felt perfectly fine, and wanted to go be with their friends and family.  
  
"I really don't think that's necessary, Poppy. The both look perfectly healthy to me." Dumbledore spoke up in their defense.  
  
"But Headmaster, they have just been through a horrible ordeal....." She argued.  
  
"Yes, yes they have. But right now I believe that you have done all you can for them, and that the best treatment for them will be to return to life as it was before the incident. Thank you for your help, Poppy." His voice was gentle, but also very determined and filled with authority. Madame Pomfrey sighed and nodded reluctantly.  
  
"Now," Dumbledore started, turning to Harry and Ginny. "I believe there are several people waiting outside who are very anxious to see you both. You may leave, Ginny, but I must ask that Harry stay for a few minutes longer. There are several questions that I need him to answer, and he probably has some questions of his own."  
  
Ginny nodded, and left the hospital wing quietly. Madame Pomfrey went into her office a few seconds later, after giving Harry strict warnings not to 'tire himself out'.  
  
As soon as the door was closed Dumbledore sat slowly down in a chair next to the window. He sighed deeply as he took his half moon spectacles off and began rubbing his eyes wearily. But after just a few seconds the glasses were back in front of his ocean blue eyes, now alert and bright as they usually were.  
  
"Well, Harry." He said, even managing a small smile. "That was quite an ordeal."  
  
Harry just nodded in a agreement as he felt the bandage on his cheek. It still didn't even hurt.  
  
"I trust you have a lot of questions that you would like answered."  
  
Harry nodded again. Was he supposed to ask him now?  
  
"Well?"  
  
Apparently he was. "Um....." Harry started. He had so many questions, he didn't even know where to start. "Why....I mean how....how did I get in front of Ginny like that?"  
  
"Hmm...well to tell the truth that was one of the questions that I was going to ask you." The old wizard said with an amused twinkle in his eyes. "But I do have a theory. You could have apparated. I can't think what else it could have been."  
  
"But....but I can't apparate....I mean even with a wand I don't know how....." Harry stammered confusedly.  
  
"Yes, I know. But in dire situations it's extraordinary how one can do things that he never knew how to do. Can you tell me what was going through your head at the time?"  
  
"I was just thinking how...how I wished that it was me standing there instead of Ginny." Harry didn't really see how that could have helped very much.  
  
"Hmm...." Dumbledore said again, nodding his head as if he understood.  
  
Harry knew that the best way to get a response out of the wizard was just to wait until he was through thinking things over. So despite how much he was longing for an answer, he waited silently until Dumbledore was ready to tell him.  
  
"I believe you used a very ancient form of magic. A form where a wand isn't necessary, otherwise known as wandless magic. When one desires something desperatly, and if the desire is completely un-selfish, one is able to perform very complicated magic. Of course not everyone can do it, the person attempting it must be incredibly powerful. I believe that is how Voldemort apparated away, as well."  
  
Harry thought he understood, except for one thing.  
  
"But how did Voldemort get away? If, like you said, the motive has to be un- selfish? I don't think Voldemort had anyone but himself in mind when he apparated."  
  
"Voldemort has levels of power that no one but himself can comprehend. For his whole life he has been researching ancient evil magic and spells, no doubt he has found a way to perform ancient magic without as many complications as is normal."  
  
"And the anit-apparation field around the school?" Harry asked.  
  
"It only prohibits apparating inside the school from the outside, or vise- versa. You can still apparate from one section of the school to another."  
  
Harry nodded, trying to take in what Dumbledore was saying, but it all seemed so impossibe.  
  
"So...so was that how I....I mean...why didn't I die?" Harry finally managed to say.  
  
"Ah," Dumbledore sighed. "The greatest mystery of all, no doubt. I believe it was because of the same ancient magic that you used to apparate to Ginny. I believe that is also the way that your mother managed to save your life when you were a child."  
  
Harry was giving himself a headache with trying to sort everything out. Nothing made sense.  
  
"But...my mother....she....she died. Why didn't I?" Harry choked several times as he tried to force the words out.  
  
A shadow of weariness and sorrow passed across the Headmaster's face once again.  
  
"Because, Harry, your mother....I know this is hard to understand, even I don't completely comprehend ancient magic and it's rules. It is a form of magic that comes from the heart, not from wands or incantations. The power of the spell that one is able to cast is based on the goodness of the heart of the one performing it. Do you understand so far?"  
  
Harry nodded, listening attentively.  
  
"You and your mother both used ancient magic to try and save the lives of those that you loved. You both knew what you had to do to accomplish that. Your mother knew she had to die to save you, so she died. But you knew you had to live to save Ginny, so you lived."  
  
Harry understood now. It gave you a choice, wether you wanted to live or die. And his mother chose death, just to save him. He had known that in order for Ginny to live, he himself had to live. So he had chosen life.  
  
Dumbledore watched Harry with pain. The boy was having to face things that no seventeen year old should be aloud to face. There was a sorrow shining in those brilliant green eyes that never should have been there. But there was also wisdom. Dumbledore had watched him grow up from an infant, and the boy's strength and resiliance had never once ceased to amaze him. No matter what Harry was faced with, he stood up to it without even flinching. He had lived such a hard life, but, unlike most people, he didn't attempt to blame it on those around him, he merely kept on going with amazing resolve and determination.  
  
Dumbledore was knocked out of these thoughts by Harry's next question.  
  
"How did I get this cut on my cheek?" He asked, once again rubbing the bandage on his face.  
  
Dumbledore was surprised that he didn't know. "It happened when the Avada Kedavra curse hit you."  
  
Harry's shock was obvious. "Really?" He asked. "I didn't even feel it."  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "As you have already demonstrated once, I suppose whenever anyone survives the curse they are left with a mark to prove it. That is why Poppy couldn't heal it, it is necessary for the cut to scar." Dumbledore explained, before they both passed into a thoughtful silence once again.  
  
"I'm sorry." Harry said quietly after a few minutes.  
  
"Sorry? Whatever are you sorry for?" Dumbledore asked in a confused voice.  
  
Harry looked up to meet the old man's eyes. "For not killing him. I had the chance to destroy him, to end things forever, and I let him get away." As he finished he couldn't look into those peircing eyes anymore, so he diverted his gaze to the floor.  
  
Dumbledore stood up and went to sit by Harry on the metal hospital bed. "Harry," He said in a gentle, fatherly voice. The emerald green eyes turned up to meet his. They were filled with shame and anger.  
  
"You didn't do anything wrong. You did exactly what you should have done. Mercy and love are the very things that Voldemort fears the most. They are the only things in this world that he doesn't understand, the only things that he doesn't know how to deal with. He wanted you to kill him, he was trying to make you angry enough to do it. Because he knew that he wouldn't die. Hate is what Voldemort thrives on, what gives him most of his power. If you had given into your hate, then you would only have made him stronger, and also given him the pleasure of seeing you become like him. At first when he came he expected just to kill you and get it over with, but when you proved to be something of a difficulty, he decided it would be wiser to convert you to his side, so he could use your power as well as his own. But you fought him, Harry. You did the very thing that he wasn't expecting. True, it is a shame that Voldemort is still alive, but if you had somehow managed to destroy him, it wouldn't have ended evil forever. One of his followers would have picked up where he left off, perhaps coming even more powerful than Voldemort himself had been. There will always be evil in the world, Harry, no one can change that. But as long as there is evil, there is also those who are brave and good enough to fight it." He gave Harry a gentle pat on the shoulder as he finished.  
  
Harry nodded comprehendingly. He gave the old wizard a very thankful look. Dumbledore smiled sadly at the boy as he stood up and walked back to the window, where he peered out into what was now a pitch- black sky.  
  
"You injured him tonight, though. His plan was to come here and rid himself of the two wizards who had been causing him trouble, and you stopped him from doing that. And you also destroyed his wand. When a wizard has had a wand as long as Lord Voldemort had his, and used it as often as he had, the wand and wizard grow somewhat connected. Of course he will be able to find another wand, and grow used to that one as well. But after so many years of doing the same evil curses over and over, a wand usually becomes especially powerful with those types of curses. You did the world a favor by destroying that wand."  
  
Harry was about to ask how he had known how to destroy the wand, but figured that it was just more ancient magic. And besides, he wa getting a bit impatient to leave and see his friends. Dumbledore seemed to sense this.  
  
"If you have no more questions, you may go now. I am sure there are lots of people who are most anxious to see you. If you think of anything else you wish to ask me, feel free to do so anytime." He said without taking his eyes away from the window.  
  
"Yes, sir. Thank you for your help." Harry said as he stood up and began walking toward the door, the potion Madame Pomfrey had given him still in his hand.  
  
"Harry," The Headmaster's voice stopped him right before he was about to turn the door knob.  
  
He turned his head to look at the wizard by the window. Dumbledore was looking at him with a nastalgic look in his intense eyes.  
  
It seemed only yesterday to the old man when he had watched a young black haired boy leave the same hospital wing through that very door. As Dumbeldore looked at Harry, the unnaturaly green eyes semed to turn chocolate brown. But besides that the boy remained almost completely the same. He had been there for some Quidditch injury, broke his leg or something like that. What was that, 20 something years ago? Somwhere around there.  
  
"Yes sir?  
  
Harry's words shattered Dumbledore's memories of times long past. Once again it was Harry Potter standing in the doorway, those shining emerald eyes replacing the imaginary brown ones.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry my boy. When you get to be my age sometimes memories come up out of nowhere and take place of the present completely."  
  
Dumbledore sighed deeply, trying to push stubborn memories out of his mind.  
  
"I just wanted to say that..." He took a deep, shuddering breath before continuing. "I'm sure your parents are very proud."  
  
Harry smiled sadly as he nodded his thanks. He gave the aged wizard a small wave as he walked out the door, trying to fight the tears that were threatening to fall.  
  
As soon as the door closed behind Harry, Dumbledore collapsed into the chair once again, burying his face in his wrinkled hand, this time not even bothering to remove his glasses.  
  
*****************  
  
A/N: I'm sorry that took so long! Please tell me if you liked it or not. I know it was boring but I had to explain all that stuff somehow. Review please!  
  
~*Katydid*~ 


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: See previous chapters.  
  
Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed the last chapter!!  
  
la2ur2a-Thanks! I thought I might have left something out when I was trying to explain stuff but I guess I didn't. Hurr and get your next chapter up! :)  
  
gundamhardcore-haha ok I'll try. thank you!  
  
Blue eyes- No, it's not over. I wouldn't end it like that. : ) Dumbledore was just sad cuz he saw James reflected in Harry and didn't want Harry to die like James did. I guess. Well thanks for reviewing!  
  
shdurrani-hey! It's ok. I hope it went good!  
  
MarsMoonStar- Haha thanks! I'm glad you liked it...  
  
*Chapter 16*  
  
Harry closed the door behind him softly, still wondering a little at Dumbledore's odd behavior. He sighed as he turned around, but what he saw there eased away some of his worries. Mrs. Weasley had her arms wrapped tightly around her daughter and was crying uncontrollably. Harry couldn't hold back a small smile at the scene.  
  
When she looked up and saw Harry, she released her daughter and flung her arms around him, still bawling loudly. Harry wasn't sure what to do. He felt like giving in to his tears like Mrs. Weasley, he felt so tired of fighting back emotions that were always threatening to flow over like a dam bursting. For a split second he considered giving in to his tears and letting go of his emotions, but even as these thoughts were going through his head, he still fought. All his life he had been controlling his feelings and hiding them from the rest of the world. He knew he should let go, but he couldn't.  
  
"Oh my," She sighed as she pulled away from him at last, blowing her nose in her already damp handkercheif. "Don't know what you thought you were doing, Harry, I really don't. Going out there like that, asking to be killed, in my opinion." She was trying to scold him, but her tone was so tender and soft that it really didn't come across that way at all. She tried desperatly to stop crying, but one look at Ginny and she was bawling again. "Thank you so much." She said to Harry as she hugged Ginny again.  
  
Mr. Weasley came up to Harry and opened his mouth to say something, but ended up closing it again. By the confused look on his face Harry could tell that he didn't know what to say. After a few seconds he just nodded thankfully and patted Harry firmly on the shoulder. Harry returned the nod and managed a weak smile.  
  
"Come on now, Molly. Dumbledore said I need to get back to work as soon as possible." Mr. Weasley said after a few more minutes of silence only broken by Mrs. Weasley's continuous sobs.  
  
Mrs. Weasley nodded and pulled away from Ginny reluctantly, dabbing her swollen eyes and sniffing loudly.  
  
"We're walking back to Hogsmeade and apparating from there. Dumbledore can't risk opening Hogwarts up again. Most of the other parents already left, but we thought we'd come up here and see how you two were coming along. I wish we could stay longer, but I need to get back to the ministry. Got to sort all this mess out. I expect I won't get any sleep for a few weeks now. Come along, Molly."  
  
Mrs. Weasley hugged Ginny, Ron, Harry and even Hermione again and after Mr. Weasley had said goodbye to his children and their friends, they turned and walked down the winding stairway together, leaving the four friends to themselves. They stood there for a while, everyone deep in their own thoughts.  
  
After a few minutes Harry felt like if he didn't sit down right away he was going to faint from exhaustion.  
  
"Guess we should go back now." He suggested hopefully. As much as he wanted to talk with his friends and girlfriend right now and tell them everything that he and Dumbledore had talked about, he had never been so tired before and a few hours of sleep sounded much better than anything else.  
  
"Yeah." Agreed Ron vaguely.  
  
They all turned and headed down the stairway that Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had just gone down a few minutes before.  
  
"Your parents already leave, Hermione?" Harry asked, suddenly remembering about Hermione's parents.  
  
"Huh? Oh, yeah. They're driving back the muggle way, of course. That's how they came." She answered absently. Harry nodded.  
  
They walked in silence until they were climbing the last staircase leading to the fat lady.  
  
"Wow." Ron suddenly said.  
  
"What?" Harry asked, turning to his friend.  
  
"Just you, back there, I mean...wow." Ron said again.  
  
Harry managed a tired smile. "Yeah." He said.  
  
"So what happened?" Ron asked as they stopped in front of the portrait hole.  
  
"It's kinda complicated." Harry said, rubbing his eyes with his palms. "Can we talk about it tomorrow? I've never been so exhausted in my life."  
  
"Oh, yeah, sure." Ron said as he turned to the fat lady. "Phoenix feather." He muttered.  
  
The fat lady ignored him. She had her eyes fixed on Harry with a look of awe on her face. Obviously she had heard the entire story from some painting in the Great Hall. Harry sighed. This was just the beginning.  
  
"Phoenix feather." Ron said again, much louder this time.  
  
The fat lady jerked her gaze away from Harry and fixed it on Ron. "I heard you the first time." She murmered in an aggravated voice as she swung silently open, allowing the students to climb through.  
  
Harry groaned aloud at what he saw inside. The entire Gryffindor house was sitting in the Common Room, everyone chatting loudly. But as soon as the four friends entered the room, the noise stopped immediatly and every head turned toward Harry. They stared at him expectantly, as if he was supposed to have a speech prepared or something.  
  
Colin Creevy was the first to move. He shot up from his arm chair, camera in hand, and started clicking away furiously at Harry.  
  
"Turn sideways just a bit, Harry, so I can see where the cut is." He said in a jittery, excited voice.  
  
"Uh...thanks, Colin, but I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go on to bed." Harry said as he hurridly started toward the staircase before Colin could take another picture of him. He vaulted up the steps two at a time. Once back in his own dorm, he swallowed the potion in the blue bottle that Madame Pomfrey gave him and fell exhaustedly onto his bed without even bothering to change. He was already asleep when the other 7th year boys came in a few minutes later, and didn't even wake up when Neville started snoring as usual.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
The next day was a Saturday and Harry slept until 12:00. When he woke he vaguely wondered why every muscle in his body felt so sore. He groaned as he sat up in his four poster, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He suddenly remembered the events of the night before. But his memories felt strangley unreal, as if the whole thing had just been a dream. But as much as he wished it had been, he knew it wasn't by the aching feeling that was making his head pound painfully. He climbed wearily out of bed and changed slowly and clumsily into new robes. He was just pulling on his socks when the door opened and Ron stuck his head inside.  
  
"Hey, how do you feel?" He said in a whisper.  
  
"Awful." Harry said with another groan. He hadn't felt near this sore when he'd been fighting, but then again he hadn't really had time to think about anything other than his opponent. Hours of constant fighting mixed with the cruciatus curse had to take their toll, even if it was the boy who lived.  
  
"Yeah I thought so. So I went up to the hospital wing and annoyed Madame Pomfrey into giving me some pain reliever for you. She almost wouldn't give it to me because she wanted you to go up there yourself." Ron said as he walked into the room and handed Harry a small green bottle of liquid.  
  
"Thanks, Ron." Harry said before drinking the potion. As soon as he swallowed the cool liquid he felt the pain and soreness leave instantly.  
  
"Wow, that's amazing." Harry said thankfully.  
  
Ron was glad to see the usual brightness returned to his friends emerald eyes. "Ginny and Hermione are waiting for you. It's time for lunch already." Ron said, gesturing Harry toward the door.  
  
Harry finished tying his shoe laces quickly before standing up and following his best friend out the door.  
  
A few minutes later the four friends were walking down to the Great Hall. As soon as they entered it Harry realized his mistake. The reaction of the other students and even some teachers was exactly what the Gryffindor's had been the night before, only it was much more affective, considering it was a much bigger group of people. Only Dumbledore and Lupin were acting like they usually did every morning, as if nothing had happened.  
  
"Come on, Harry." Ron said as he grabbed Harry's arm and lead him out of the Great Hall. Ginny and Hermione went up to the Gryffindor table and grabbed a few peices of toast before following the two boys out of the room.  
  
The four friends walked outside onto the Grounds and sat in front of the lake, eating toast and throwing rocks into the water. Harry sighed as he threw another stone into the lake and watched the ripples slowly disappear.  
  
"Ok, I can answer any questions you have now." He said as he leaned his head back against the tree he was sitting in front of.  
  
For the next hour he was baraged with questions, all of which he tried his best to answer, but most of which he himself still felt in need of a full explanation.  
  
When Ron, Hermione and Ginny ran out of questions the four friends all sat in silence, watching the still lake before them as though mesmerized by it, each one trying to force their brain to accept what had happened and stop thinking that it was just some bizarre dream that was going to end any time now.  
  
"It's so weird." Ron said with a sigh as he tossed another rock into the still blue surface of the lake. "Why didn't you tell us you were getting that powerful, Harry?" He asked as he turned to look at his best friend.  
  
"I didn't really know, I mean I could beat Remus and stuff but I thought maybe he was just going easy on me or something." Harry replied.  
  
Ron nodded, but still looked slightly confused. He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it again instantly.  
  
"What is it?" Harry asked.  
  
Ron didn't answer, but Hermione guessed what he was thinking and answered for him.  
  
"You were really brave, Harry." She whispered as she gave her friend a smile.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry hadn't had such a relaxing day in a very long time, he hadn't even had a nightmare the night before, thanks to the potion Madame Pomfrey had given him. True, it was annoying how everyone was treating him differently now, the entire school acting just as Colin Creevey always had. Even a few Slytherins had beeen following him around and asking for his autograph. But Harry figured it would wear off after a while, and even if it didn't, he would be leaving for good in just a few days, anyway.  
  
There had even been a mob of reporters waiting outside, trying to get permission to entire. But much to Harry's relief, Dumbledore sent them all away after assuring them that no one was hurt and everything was under control.  
  
That night Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione stayed up until 2:00 in the Common Room, Ron and Harry playing chess and all four of them talking about what they were going to do when they left Hogwarts. All the other students had tried to stay down as long as they could to watch Harry hoping that he would blow something to peices or something, but finally went to bed after seeing that he had no intention of doing anything more interesting than playing chess.  
  
Mr. Weasley had managed to get a job for Ron at the Ministry in the Floo Powder Network, Hermione was going to work in the Ministry as well, in the Care of Magical Creatures department. Her goal was to try and get better rights for house elfs. Harry was going to go to a two-year auror school. He had sent his application in a few weeks before, and it had been accepted right away. After all, he was the boy who lived.  
  
Ginny was still a little worried about Harry becoming an Auror, but at least for two years he would be going to school and wouldn't be in any immediate danger. Hopefully.  
  
"Checkmate." Ron said with a smirk. Harry sighed and knocked his king over for the fourth time that night.  
  
Ginny and Hermione stopped talking. Ron was usually pretty funny to watch when he won at chess. But instead of doing a victory dance and gloating loudly like he usualy did, he just stretched his arms over his head and yawned.  
  
"I think I'm gonna go to bed now. See you guys tomorrow." He said as he stood up and after kissing Hermione went up to the boys dormitory.  
  
"Wow he must finally be growing up." Hermione said sarcastically. I'll go now, too. I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open." She said with a loud yawn. "Good night you two." She said before she too left for her Dormitory.  
  
Once she was gone Ginny got up and went to sit next to Harry on the couch. He put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her to him, kissing her softly on top of her head.  
  
They both sat staring silently into the dying fire for a few minutes before ginny spoke, her voice strained and thick with emotion.  
  
"While I was watching you last night....I've never been so scared in my whole life, Harry." She whispered as she fought back tears.  
  
Harry sighed. "I was scared to, Gin, but only when he threatened to bring you into it. I can't believe I put you in danger like that." Harry said in an almost angry voice.  
  
"It wasn't your fault. And don't you dare think that, Harry Potter." She said firmly as she sat up and looked him in the eyes. The brilliant green orbs were filled with pain and confusion that Harry was trying to hold in check, but somehow he could never keep his guard up when he was with Ginny.  
  
"I'm going to miss you, Harry." She said softly as a few tears managed to roll down her cheeks.  
  
"I'm gonna miss you too, Ginny. But I can come visit you anytime, and besides, we've got a whole summer before you've got to come back here and I'm going to start Auror training." He said softlly as he wiped her tears away while still trying to force back his own.  
  
"Are you sure that's what you want to do, Harry? You could get any job you wanted at the ministry, I mean no one would turn Harry Potter down. Are you sure you want to do something so....dangerous?" She asked in a pleading voice.  
  
Harry sighed. "Ginny...I can't explain it, but this is what I have to do. This is what I was meant to do. When I was in there with Voldemort, it felt so right, so natural. I didn't even have to think about it, it was as if I had finally found where I was meant to be. It's hard to explain." He said with another sigh. "I thought we already figured all this out."  
  
"I know, I'm sorry. It's just...to never know where you are, or who you're fighting with, or if you're ok or not...." She didn't finish her sentance.  
  
"I'll be ok, Gin. I know what I'm doing." He whispered, looking deeply into her sky blue eyes..  
  
"I know you do." She said with a small smile as she leaned her head back onto his shoulder and closed her eyes.  
  
After a few minutes Ginny's deep, steady breathing told Harry that she had fallen asleep. He smiled softly as he leaned his head on top of hers and slowly felt himself drifting to sleep as well.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"NO!"  
  
The scream broke the still silence of the almost deserted common room.  
  
Harry jerked out of a peaceful sleep. He opened his eyes to see Ginny, still sitting next to him on the couch, breathing rapidly. Her face was deathly pale and her eyes were wide with fear.  
  
"Hey," He whispered as he pulled her to him and wrapped his arms back around her. She shook violently in his tight embrace.  
  
"Oh, it was awful, Harry. So real...." She said in a shaking voice.  
  
"I know, I know. But it wasn't real. It wasn't." He didn't know what he should say to comfort her, he had always been on the recieving end of things like this. He had always been the one to wake up screaming from a horrible nightmare. After a few minutes she stopped shaking.  
  
"You wanna tell me about it?" Harry asked tenderly. It had always seemed to help him to tell someone about his nightmares, it would probably help her, too.  
  
"It was him," She started. "He was killing you." She shuddered again as the last words left her mouth.  
  
Harry bit his lower lip. He felt partially responsible for doing this to Ginny. If it wasn't for him then she would never have been witness to such terrifying things. Because of him, she was going to go through the rest of her life with haunting memories, just like he himself would have to.  
  
"Everything's ok, Gin." He said softly as he stroked her hair. "I'll take you to Madame Pomfrey tomorrow to get some more dreamless sleep potion."  
  
She nodded and and fell back asleep after a few minutes. Harry sighed as he looked at her now peacefull face. He couldn't push away the awful feeling growing inside him. Voldemort knew who Ginny was now, knew who all the Weasley's were. Harry might have managed to save Ginny one time, but pretty soon he wasn't going to be able to be around her all the time. And he of all people should know, that once Lord Voldemort started something, he never gave up until he had finished it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Sorry this took me so long. I'm trying to figure out where to go from here, so try to bear with me. Please review!  
  
~Katydid 


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer:I don't own any of this.  
  
la2ur2a-Thanks! I know I hate writer's block. Good luck on your story!  
  
Starry Eyed GIrl- Thank you! I know they're the best hp couple.  
  
gundamhardcore-ah! sorry! thanks for reviewing!  
  
eTRINITYs11-Wow! Thanks so much for all the reveiws! Thanks for the ideas and stuff, too!  
  
(princessofcountry68@hotmail.com)- thanks! I'm glad you liked it!  
  
Chapter 17  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Professor Dumbledore tore his tired eyes away from the dark window to look at the ancient clock hanging on the wall of his office. 11:55. He moved away from the window and retired into a plush arm chair if front of his blazing fireplace. He waited in silence for a few minutes before the flames turned bright blue and a worried looking face appeared in it.  
  
Sirius Black had cut his hair and shaven since the last time Dumbledore had seen him, making for a much more civilized looking man. But the deep shadow was still apparant in the black eyes, the only evidence now left of the severe pain suffered so many years before.  
  
"What happened, Albus?" Sirius asked, his voice ringing with concern.  
  
Dumbledore sighed and sank further back into his arm chair. Sirius knew the old man well enough to know that he wouldn't be getting an answer right away.  
  
"I heard about some kind of attack on Hogwarts in the paper, but they didn't have any details. Said something about Harry, though." Sirius tried again, hoping that the less direct approach would coax some kind of exlpanation out of the wizard.  
  
Dumbledore could see the concern and questions shining in the man's eyes. Dumbledore shut his eyelids and, beginning with the Auror lessons that Harry had been taking for about a year now, started telling Sirius the events that concerned his Godson.  
  
About an hour later Dumbledore finished his story and opened his eyes to see the reaction of the younger man. Sirius still looked slightly worried, but the main emotion shining in his eyes now was relief.  
  
"The paper made it sound a lot more serious. I'm just glad Harry wasn't hurt too bad."  
  
Dumbledore shook his head slowly. "Wasn't hurt, Sirius? Look into the boy's eyes and then tell me that he wasn't hurt. Harry has been hurting since the day that Voldemort killed his parents. Voldemort has instilled the worse possible kind of pain in him, the pain of loss. And Voldemort is going to keep killing those Harry loves until the pain destroys the boy completely."  
  
Sirius had never seen the older man look more tired and hopeless than he did at that moment. Sirius knew that he was right. Now that Voldemort knew how hard Harry would be to kill directly, he would kill those close to Harry to try and bring the boy to him.  
  
Sirius sighed and rubbed his eyes wearily. "I wish there was some way to protect him from all this. To let him live a normal life, to keep him safe. Like James asked me to." Sirius's voice choked painfully as he said the last part.  
  
Dumbledore shook his head again. "I do too. But even if there was a way to protect him, somewhere we could send him where he would be safe, you know as well as I do that we couldn't do it. We need him, Sirius. After what I saw last night I know that we'll never be able to defeat Voldemort without that boy's help. As much as I want to protect him, if the terror is ever going to end, we need him to put himself in danger."  
  
Sirius nodded in a agreement, but still looked displeased and concerned.  
  
"What's he going to do after graduation?" Sirius asked, changing the subject.  
  
"He's enrolled for Auror school. Most likely he'll want to stay with the Weasley's for the summer, but I think it would be better if he stayed with his aunt and uncle for one more summer, considering the circumstances. Voldemort still doesn't know where the Weasley's live, since we made it unchartable, but I still think Harry would be safer at the Dursley's." Dumbledore said  
  
Sirius nodded. "Yes that would be much better. Harry isn't going to like it, but if he stayed with the Wealsey's it would make it easier for Voldemort to track him and then the whole Weasley family would be in danger. What about when the term begins?" Sirius asked the older wizard.  
  
"When his training starts he's going to stay in the school dormitory, where he'll be surrounded by other Auror's. I'll contact Tilney and inform him of the precautions that will need to be taken when Harry arrives. Hopefully...." Dumbledore was cut short when Sirius whirled his head around to look behind him.  
  
"I have to go, Albus. I had to break into someone's house and I think they're back. Thank you for your time." Sirius said hurridly before disappearing with a loud popping noise that echoed strangely off the stone walls of the office.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"I don't believe it!!" Harry said angrily as he threw the note that Professor Dumbledore had sent him onto the coffe table in front of him.  
  
Ron, Hermione and Ginny all looked up from their homework and dove for the note, but Ron grabbed it first. It only took him a few seconds to read and when he finished his face had the same indignant expression that Harry's had.  
  
Ginny snatched it away from her brother and read it through quickly before handing it to Hermione.  
  
"What?" Was Hermione's reaction. "He's going to make you stay with the Dursley's again? Doesn't he know how they treat you?"  
  
Harry moaned as he dropped his head onto his hands.  
  
"It's only for one summer, Harry. And you know that Dumbledore only has your safety in mind." Ginny said, trying to comfort him but still a little upset herself.  
  
"Yeah. Oh well one more summer won't kill me." He sighed as he stood up and took the note from Hermione to read it again. When he was finished he dropped it back onto the table. "Come on, lets go eat. I'm starving." He muttered as he made his way toward the portrait hole.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A couple days later Harry, Ron, Hermioine and Ginny were all standing on platform 9 3/4. Ron and Hermione both hugged Harry and made him promise to write them before they left to say their own goodbye's to eachother. As soon as they were gone Ginny threw her arms around Harry's neck.  
  
"Don't let the Dursley's get to you too much, ok?" She whispered into his ear.  
  
"That's not what's bothering me. I can handle them. It's not being able to see you for two months that bothers me." He whispered back.  
  
She pulled away from him slightly to look into his eyes. "You'd better not foget about me." She said in a mock threatening tone.  
  
Harry smiled. "The same goes for you." He leaned forward and kissed her softly on the lips. He pulled away again after a few minutes when he heard a car honking loudly behind him. He sighed and picked up his trunk.  
  
"I'll come see you as soon as I can." He whispered as he leaned forward and kissed her gently on the forehead before turning and walking to the car. He slid into the back seat and was about to close the door behind him when he heard Ginny yell for him to wait. She ran up to the car door and leaned in slightly. Harry could see tears shining in her eyes.  
  
"Write me." She said weakly, her voice choking with emotion.  
  
He forced a shaky smile. "Sure." Was all he managed to say before Uncle Vernon started honking the horn again. Ginny closed the door and watched the car until it was out of sight. She sighed deeply as she turned to find her family.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Very short, I know. Sorry, I'm really busy right now. Thanks for reading it and please review!  
  
~Katydid 


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.  
  
Thanks so much to AllyStar, la2ur2a, michelle, eTRINITYs11, Starry Eyed GIrl, gundamhardcore, and Ali Lee for reviewing the last chapter! Y'all are so cool! : )  
  
Chapter 18  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Of all the summers Harry had been forced to stay with the Dursley's, this was without a doubt the worst. Petunia at least had resigned to simply ignoring him, but Dudley and Vernon were obviously taking exceptional pains to torture him, possibly because they knew that this was their last chance to make his life miserable.  
  
If it weren't for Ginny's letters, and him being able to write to her, Harry probably would have ended up getting a little too wand happy and cursing their brains out. There wasn't anything holding him back, now that he was no longer a student at Hogwarts and was legally allowed to do magic anywhere he wanted, he knew that if he did something rash now then he would undoubtedly regret it later. In just a few months he would be free of the Dursley's forever, and until then he might as well just learn to live with them as he had so many times before.  
  
No need to say that Hedwig was exhausted. She'd flown back and forth from the Burrow to Privet Drive two times a day for almost a month now. Ginny had attempted to use Pig a few times just to give Hedwig a break but the hyperactive little owl wasn't exaclty the most dependable creature that every existed.  
  
Harry spent most of his days studying the many Auror books that Remus had let him borrow before he left Hogwarts. Of course he already knew practically everything in them , but there wasn't much else to do, and he was hoping that if he did well enough he would be able to lessen the training time to one year instead of two.  
  
He was sitting in his bedroom reading about the defensive manuevers of dueling when he heard his uncle bellowing at him to come eat. Harry sighed as he set down his book and headed down the stairs. He wasn't surprised to see Dudley already stuffing his face. Petunia was piling more mashed potatoes onto her son's already overflowing plate.  
  
Harry sat down and was just about to grab a biscuit when there was a loud, resounding knock on the door. Vernon froze with his fork half-way to his oversized mouth. He dropped his fork onto his plate and scooted his chair backward angrily. He waddled to the door clumsily, muttering the whole time about idiot sales people who didn't know what supper was.  
  
After a few minutes of silence, he waddled back in. His face was always purple of course, but now it was a shade that Harry had only seen a few times. He looked straight at Harry then grunted, gesturing toward the door, a nervous and scared look on his face.  
  
Harry stood and left the room excitedly. There was a tall figure standing in the living room with his back turned toward Harry. He was wearing a long black cloak, which was unmistakenly a wizard's. Harry cleared his throat softly, letting the man know that he was there. Harry almost fell backwards in shock at who he saw standing there when the man turned around. It was Sirius. But Harry had never seen his Godfather look like he did now, except for in photographs. His dark brown hair was cropped short, and his eyes had something shining in them that Harry had never seen in them before. It was joy.  
  
"Hello, Harry." He said with a smile. "Didn't think I'd forget your birthday this year, did you?"  
  
"I've still got a couple of weeks till my birthday. Don't tell me you got the date wrong." Harry joked as he grinned back.  
  
"Yeah, I know. But there's something that I didn't want to wait to tell you." He said with a wide grin spreading across his face. "I've been freed, Harry. Some Aurors found Wormtail with a group of Deatheaters and as soon as Dumbledore told me about it I turned myself in. I told them my story and asked them to give either me or Peter the truth serum, and Dumbeldore managed to persuade them to. I was just freed earlier this morning."  
  
Harry was in shock. He just stood gaping at Sirius for a few minutes, trying to let the information sink in. Sirius just stood smiling uncontrollably, trying to hide his pleasure but failing completely.  
  
"Sirius that's great!!" Harry finally managed to exclaim. The older man just nodded his agreement.  
  
"The Ministry gave me a huge house in Hogsmeade to supposedly try and make up for what they did to me, which of course will do nothing of the sort, but I was hoping....I mean I know you'll probably want to move out on your own when you start training, but maybe just until then you could come stay with me. I already...."  
  
"Of course I want to stay with you!" Harry said, interupting his Godfather. "When can I go?" He asked excitedly.  
  
"Well now, I guess. That is, if it's ok with your Aunt and Uncle." Sirius said. Harry didn't know if Sirius was being sarcastic or not about the last part but he didn't really care.  
  
"I've already talked to Dumbledore about it and he said it would be fine for you to come any time you want. It's already decided that Remus is going to stay with us, too." Sirius said, sounding excited despite his attempts to hide it.  
  
"Great! I'm gonna go pack my stuff." Harry said as he turned and bolted out of the room and up the stairs.  
  
"I'll talk to your Aunt and Uncle." Sirius yelled after him.  
  
There's no need to go into detail about the response of Mr. and Mrs. Dursley when Sirius asked if he could take Harry. Lets just say they weren't exactly hesitant. In less than an hour Harry and Sirius were riding in the back of a taxi with Harry's trunk and Hedwig's cage in the trunk of the car. Sirius had decided to take the muggle way back, since Harry hadn't learned how to apparate yet. He also wanted a chance to tell Harry everything in detail that had brought about his being released of the charges that had haunted him for years.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry probably set a record for going from utterly miserable to completely happy in the shortest amount of time. Living with Sirius and Remus was just the opposite of living with the Dursley's. There was a huge basement underneath the house which was where Remus went every month just to be safe, even though he was still taking the potions which calmed him considerably in his transformed state.  
  
Ron had started his job at the Ministry, as had Hermione. Hermione was consantly trying to organize Ron, which of course failed miserably. Harry visited them frequently, usually eating lunch with them before they had to get back to work. He had taken his apparation test and passed easily. Sirius had only shown him how to do it once before he was able to do it without even thinking about it.  
  
Harry was dreading as well as looking forward to September, when he would begin his official Auror training. He was excited about it because it would be a huge step towards becoming an Auror, and also because he enjoyed dueling so much. But it also meant that Ginny would leave for her last year at Hogwarts. Of course he would be able to visit her any time he wanted, but they wouldn't have the same freedom that they had now.  
  
Dumbledore had decided that considering the dangerous times, it would be practical for every student to have some sort of dueling experience, and therefore created a dueling class of which Sirius was now the teacher. So every day after Sirius and Remus left for Hogwarts, Harry had the rest of the day to himself. He spent most of them with Ginny, walking aimlessly through Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley.  
  
Harry and Ginny were sitting on a park bench in London eating ice cream one day with four days left untill Ginny would leave for Hogwarts and Harry would begin his training. They had spent the day walking through London, Ginny laughing at all the muggle devices and Harry trying and failing to explain their purpses to her.  
  
"It's not supposed to have a point, Gin. It's just entertainment." Harry was trying desperatly to explain movies to Ginny. They had been to see one earlier that day and Ginny had had a hard time understanding why anyone would want to sit and watch idiots blow themselves up on a big screen for two hours.  
  
"Well I know that Harry, all I'm saying is that muggle entertainment is lame." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"They have to settle for what they can get, Gin, I mean they're kind of limited in their actions, unlike us."  
  
Ginny just shrugged. "Ok, forget it. I don't care anymore. You win." She said with a smile.  
  
Harry sighed. Ginny would never understand muggles.  
  
"So have you met with Walker yet?" She asked, changing the subject abruptly. Harry shook his head no. Walker was the Auror who was going to be training him. Harry wished that Remus could continue teaching him, but Walker was probably more skilled considering he had been an actual Auror for nearly twenty years now.  
  
"You'll do great, Harry." Ginny said, seeing Harry looking a little nervous at the idea of meeting the Auror. "They'll probably shorten your training to one year as soon as they see you duel." She said, trying to make her voice reasurring but at the same time wishing that Harry could just stay in Auror school forever and never actually have to become one.  
  
"You'll visit me, right?" She asked as she turned to look up into his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, of course. And you can come over to the house any time you want, you know Sirius won't care." Harry said, trying to sound casual but really dreading when she would leave. Not that what he said wasn't true, they would be able to see eachother almost whenever they wanted. But Harry was scared that Ginny might meet another 7th year at Hogwarts. He knew that guys would be all over her, after all she was extremely pretty. He believed her when she said she loved him, but he was afraid that she might meet someone else, someone who would always be able to be there for her, who would never have to put her in danger just to be with her, like he did.  
  
Ginny seemed to somehow know what he was thinking and she squeezed his hand gently, smiling softly at him.  
  
"I love you, Harry. And I always will, no matter what. You believe that, don't you?" She whispered, looking deeply into his emerald eyes. Harry smiled and reached up to stroke her cheek. He leaned forward and kissed her softly, and as he kissed her he forgot for a moment that in a few days she would be at Hogwarts, forgot about Voldemort, forgot about Auror training, forgot about everything.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I know that one took me forever to get up and it was short, too! I think everything happened too quick in this chapter, but I didn't feel like  
  
taking a long time on it. I'll try and do better in the next one. I'm still having problems thinking of what to do next so it could be like another week or so before the next chapter's up. Sorry! :)  
  
~Kati  
  
P.S. If you haven't please read my songfic. It's too fluffy but whatever. 


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer-See previous chapters  
  
Thanks to jennie, britt, Kevin, gundamhardcore, hpver7, la2ur2a, AngelsDaughter, Ali Lee and TBRWGURL for reviewing the last chapter!! Y'all are the best!! :)  
  
  
  
Chapter 19  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
"Harry! For the last time, GET UP! You're gonna be late for Auror testing!"  
  
Harry groaned as his Godfathers voice cut through the dream he'd been having, for once a good dream and not a nightmare. Ginny had been in it, they'd been laughing about something...he smiled as he recalled the blurry vision of her laughing face surounded by her firey hair. He reached clumsily for his glasses on the bedstand and fumbled them onto his face. He glanced casually at the clock and almost fell off the bed when he saw what time it was. Sirius hadn't been kidding about being late. Harry vaulted out of the bed and stumbled into the bathroom.  
  
Five minutes later he was standing in the huge kitchen, preparing to apparate. Sirius had watched him with amusement as he had been getting ready, stuffing waffles into his face and hurridly trying to read over some of the notes Remus had given him to study. "Wish me luck." Harry said, trying to joke but sounding very nervous as he raised his wand slowly, as if he was trying to drag the moment out as long as possible. "Good luck." Sirius said with a grin. "You'll do fine, Harry. If you can take on Voldemort then trust me, you can take on Walker. Don't worry about it." Sirius said in an attempt to ecourage his rattled Godson. "Yeah, like that's gonna happen." Harry sighed as he apparated out of the house.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry opened his eyes to find himself in a large, empty room with no doors or windows. He contemplated what to do for a few minutes, maybe this was part of the test? Maybe he was supposed to figure out how to get out without apparating or something. But before Harry could figure out what this had to do with being an Auror, a door opened to his left and a very tall, erect man walked in briskly. His sandy blonde hair was streaked with grey. There was a feeling of wisdom about him, not unlike Dumbledore. His intense brown eyes seemed to silently speak of the experiences this man had been through and come out of alive. There was a long dark scar across his face stretching from his chin to his hairline in a diagonal line. As soon as he was inside of the strange room the door closed and was again invisible.  
  
"You are Mr. Potter?" The man asked in a low, gruff voice that echoed slightly around the huge room. "Uh...yes sir." Harry answered, trying to sound confidant and certain like the man did, but falling very short of anything like it. "I'm Walker. I'll be testing you today." He said as he thrust forward a tanned, calloused hand. Harry shook it tentively, wishing that he could just get this whole thing over with before he threw up his waffles.  
  
"Dumbledore and Mr. Lupin have spoken to me about you. They seem to think that there is a possibility of you passing the test that we usually only administer at the end of two years official training. Do you agree with them?" There was a definant tone of doubt ringing in the man's voice, and this somehow gave Harry some courage. "Yes." He said, this time sounding much more like he wished to, confidant and brave. A samll smirk flashed across Walker's face before dissapearing into his usual hard straight mouth. "Well we shall see. We don't normally allow students to take the final exam until at least one year of training has been completed, but you must understand that we are going through very hard times at the moment. We are in desperate need of more Auror's, more desperate even than we were 17 years ago." At this his eyes flew quickly up to Harry's scar before coming back down again to meet his eyes.  
  
"By now you are most likely aware that I have a bit of doubt as to you passing this exam. Don't get me wrong, Potter. I have the utmost respect for you, after all, who in the wizarding world doesn't? Only I do not believe in special treament towards certain students simply because they are more...widely known than others. I wish you luck in this exam, Merlin knows even one more Auror would be a great help right now." He finished with a deep sigh.  
  
Harry didn't know quite how to react to Walker's statement's, should he be angry or pleased? After all, for his whole life he'd wanted people to treat him normally, like they would anyone else. Yes now that he thought about it Harry was fairly certain that Walker hadn't meant to insult him in any way.  
  
"Are you ready to begin, Mr. Potter?" The older man asked as he took out his wand. Harry felt his new found confidence slipping slowly away and could only nod in response. Walker backed up a few steps before standing directly in front of Harry. "First lets see how you apparate." He raised his wand and aimed it at the floor to Harry's right. A small ring about 3 ft across appeared. "Go ahead." He said as he motioned to the circle. Harry swallowed hard as he took out his wand. He closed his eyes and concentrated, picturing the ring in his mind. He felt a slight rush of air and opened his eyes to find himself standing directly in the ring. He looked up to see Walker smiling at him with satisfaction.  
  
"Very nice indeed, Mr. Potter. Most are usually a few feet off. Well then I think you have the apparition under control. Let's try some defensive manuevers." And that's the way it went for about 2 hours. Harry tried different spells on a dummy that Walker conjured up, and blocks on spells that he threw at him. After about the first ten minutes Harry actually started enjoying himself. He had no trouble doing anything Walker asked him to, and enjoyed seeing the amazed smile on his trainers face every time he completed a task correctly, which was every time.  
  
"Well now Mr. Potter I must admit I'm impressed. We need to bring Lupin on as a trainer here, it's amazing how much he's managed to teach you at such a young age. Your level of power is extraordinary, one thing's for sure, I wouldn't want to be an enemy of yours." He finished with a grin. "Now all that's left is a short written test and you'll be done." He conjured up a thin stack of papers and handed them to Harry along with a quil. "I'll be back in about half an hour. Good luck, Mr. Potter." And with a nod of his head he turned and walked back through the door he'd come through, which once again disappeared into the wall. Harry was about to sit on the floor when he noticed a small study table standing behind him and instead sat there.  
  
40 minutes later Harry was sitting at the table running over the completed test, looking for mistakes. It had been surprisingly easy, really. He looked up when he heard the door open and Walker strode in. Harry stood up and the table and chair disappeared instantly. Harry handed the test to Walker, who touched his wand to it. A then whisp of smoke rose from the paper and formed itself into a shaky 0. "That doesn't mean I got a zero, does it?" Harry said in a paniced voice. "No, Mr. Potter. That is the number of questions that you missed. Congratualtions, Harry. You are now officialy an Auror."  
  
Harry didn't even notice that Walker had called him 'Harry'. He was an Auror. He couldn't believe it. Just a few hours ago he'd been so sure that he would set the record for failing the test or something. Walker held out a thick envelope. "This has all the information you'll need to go over tonight. Instructions, rules and so forth. Tomorrow at 8:00 you are to apparate here and I'll show you where you're station is. I'm sure right now  
  
there are several people you would like to share this news with so I won't detain you any longer. Just remember Mr. Potter, being an Auror means more than just strutting around in your uniform and showing off your badge. You are expected to work just as hard every other Auror in the ministry, there is no exception for new recruits." Harry nodded as he looked up into the man's eyes. He saw a pain reflected in them, a pain that could only come from many years of loss and hardship. "You will have to make sacrifices, and it won't be easy. You will see your colleagues get killed or tortured right in front of you, you will perhaps be killed or tortured yourself. It is very important that you understand the agreement that you are about to make." The tone in his voice almost seemed to suggest that he himself regreted the decision he made many years ago, but what Harry discerned above that was the pride in his voice. This man had devoted his life to helping those around him, and he would do it again if he had the decision to make again, despite all the pain it had caused him through the years.  
  
"I know what I'm doing." Harry said in a quiet but determined voice. Walker nodded. "You know, Harry. I trained a young man to be an Auror almost 20 years ago now. He looked a lot like you, except for the green eyes." Harry suddenly realized who Walker was talking about. This man had trained his father. "I don't think he would regret the decision he made." Harry said firmly. True, his father might still be alive today if he  
  
hadn't chosen to become an Auror, but Harry felt somehow that a few years of saving those you cared about was better spent than a liftime of sitting by and watching as those you loved were hurt or even killed.  
  
"I don't either." Walker said with a sad smile. "Well you'd better go now Potter. You're godfather will be wanting to see how it went." Harry pulled his wand back out and held the evelope tightly in the other hand. "Thank you, sir." Harry said, giving the words more meaning than they usually held.  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
As soon as he was standing in Hogsmeade in front of The Three Broomsticks he took off running towards Hogwarts. This no-apparation thing was gonna start bugging him after a few weeks of coming to see Ginny every day, but he of all people knew the imporance of it, and he wasn't very likely to complain about it.  
  
He stopped in the entrance hall of Hogwart's to catch his breath. It was weird to be in Hogwarts and not be a student. It no longer felt like home, but it held so many memories, good and bad, that Harry couldn't help smiling as he looked around. He decided to head to the DADA class since he knew he would find Sirius there and then he could ask him what class Ginny was in at the moment.  
  
When he reached the DADA classroom he could hear Sirius's voice coming through the door. Harry opened the door a crack and peered inside. Sirius was teaching what looked like a group of 3rd years. Hufflepuff and Slytherin. Sirius glanced up and saw Harry standing outside. He quickly gave the students their homework and dismissed them even though there was still 15 minutes of class left. The students filed out of the classroom excitedly.  
  
"Well?" Sirius asked expectantly. Despite his attempts to keep from giving it away a huge smile broke across Harry's face. "I knew you'd pass!" Sirius said excitedly as he hugged his Godson. "So you're an Auror now, huh?" Sirius asked happily. "Yup." Harry answered. "Hey do you know what class Ginny is in now?" He asked his Godfather. Sirius took an extremely thick file out of a drawer in his desk and flipped through it. "I have all the students schedules here. Ah here's Ginny's." He scrolled down the page with his finger. "Charms." He said and looked up to see Harry already running out the door As he yelled "Thanks, Sirius!".  
  
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: I'm SO sorry that that took so long to get up. I've been really busy what with Thanksgiving and now x-mas and everything. I'll try to get the next chap up b4 x-mas but I'll just have to see how things go.  
  
~Katydid 


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: See previous chapters  
  
Thanks SO much to gundamhardcore, yemming, Kevin, eTRINITYs11, cutebabystar 217, Pink Witch, Sirius the Ladies' man, and Jenna James for reviewing the last chapter!!  
  
Chapter 20  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry stopped outside of the charms classroom and leaned against the wall next to the door to catch his breathe. He hoped the class wouldn't last too much longer. But after a few minutes he began to think about what Ginny's reaction would be when he told her that he'd passed. He knew she would be happy for him, but she had also always made it clear that she was not happy with the idea of Harry being an Auror. But before Harry had time to consider what would be the best way to tell her what had happened, the door opened and a mob of seventh years began to push their way out.  
  
Harry backed up a few steps to get out of the way of the rush of students. He glimpsed a flash of red hair mixed in with all the brown and black. "Ginny!" He yelled after her. She turned around and as soon as she saw him a huge smile spread acroos her face. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I didn't think you would come until supper! How did it go?" She asked as she pulled away and picked up her book bag from where she had dropped it on the floor.  
  
"Let's go for a walk or something." Harry said as he looked around at the crowds of students brushing past them on their way to their next classes. "Ok," She said, sounding concerned. They were soon out on the grounds walking by the lake, Harry holding Ginny's slender hand tightly as he tried to think of the best way to go about telling his girlfriend what he knew she wouldn't like to hear.  
  
"Well?" She asked suspiciously, a worried look spreading across her face. Harry stopped walking and looked down into her questioning eyes. "I passed." He said nervously, watching as her closely as she tried to force a smile. "That's great, Harry! So you only have to go for one year now?" She asked hopefully. Harry bit his lip as he shook his head. Ginny's face immediatly turned deathly pale. "Oh," She whispered, breaking her gaze from Harry and looking down at the ground as she tried to gather her composure. When she looked up again she had a smile on her face, not quite a genuine smile, but a smile all the same.  
  
"I'm happy for you, Harry, I really am. It's just...just be careful, ok?" She whispered as tears began sliding down her cheeks. Harry released her hand and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I will." He whispered into her hair. "So when do you start?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. "Tomorrow." Harry answered. He looked down at her in time to see her wince at his answer.  
  
He opened his mouth to try and say something to comfort her even though he had no idea what to say, but she cut him off by jumping out of his arms abruptly. "Oh shoot, I'm late for potions!" She mumbled as she grabbed her bag from the ground. "Come to supper, ok?" She said hurridly as she stood on the tip of her feet to kiss Harry lightly on the cheek. Harry watched her run all the way to the castle then he plopped down on the ground and rested his head in his hands with a sigh. She seemed to take it well, but he knew she was much more worried and upset than she let show.  
  
Harry spent the rest of the afternoon telling his two best friends about his new occupation. They were both very happy for him and the three friends talked for over and hour even though Ron and Hermione were supposed to be working. Harry apparated back to Hogsmeade and once again walked to Hogwarts. It began pouring rain when he was about half way across the Hogwart's grounds. He used a water repelling spell on himself just in time as the rain began pounding down on him.  
  
As soon as he opened the huge double doors that led to the entrance hall the familiar sound of hundreds of students talking and laughing filled his ears. He walked into the Great Hall and cringed as everyone turned to look at him then began whispering rapidly to eachother. He ignored this as much as he could and walked over to the Gryffindor table where he sat down by Ginny, who had a spot saved for him. "Hey." He muttered as he leaned forward to kiss her quickly. "Hey yourself." She replied with a smile.  
  
"So tell me everything about your test. Was it hard?" She asked, obviously straining to sound casual and cheerful. Harry smiled at her attempt before answering. He told her about Walker and a few of the tasks he had to complete, but he was careful not to talk about it too long because he could tell she didn't really want to think about it at all and had only asked because she knew Harry would have been suspicious if she didn't.  
  
The couple talked all through supper. As soon as the subject of Auror's was dropped Ginny began acting like her normal self and they both spent the time enjoyably, both of them almost forgetting about the new development completely. They talked long after they had finished eating and when Harry looked up he was surprised to see the great hall completely empty of students. All that remained was a few teachers at the staff table talking quietly to eachother.  
  
"Wow I didn't realize it was this late. I'd better get home, Gin, I have to..." He stopped himself as he was about to say he had to go over some papers before tomorrow. He didn't want to end their evening together by bringing that up again. He left the sentance unfinished and leaned forward to kiss his girlfriend softly before he stood up and began walking toward the doors. "Good luck tomorrow." He heard her soft voice float back to him. He turned around to see her still sitting at the table, staring vacantly at her plate, her face drawn with worry.  
  
Harry walked back to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She looked up at him, meeting his emerald eyes with her blue ones. "Ginny," He started but couldn't finish because he wasn't at all sure what to say. "I know this is what you want, Harry. And I think it's very noble and brave of you, and when I think about it I know I would rather have it this way than for you to be a coward afraid to defend yourself and those you care about, but I just can't help thinking about where it got your father. I try so hard not to worry about it Harry, I really do, but I couldn't live if something like that happened to you." Her voice choked with emotion and she had to struggle to get the last words out as tears began to flow freely down her face.  
  
Harry sat back down next to her and lifted her chin gently until her till- filled eyes were looking desperatly into his own. "I'm scared too, Gin. But you can't let fear live your life for you. I think there is a chance that I might be able to defeat Voldemort, and this is the only way that I can do it. What other hope do we have? Perhaps I could just go into hiding but then he would have gotten what he wanted, me out of the way. And besides if he is ever going to be destroyed I am going to have to fight him. And I can do it, Ginny. I can. You just have to trust me." Harry whispered in a pleading voice.  
  
Ginny smiled sadly at him through her tears. "I do trust you." She said softly. Harry smiled back at her. "Thank you." He whispered. "That's all I need."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
Harry stayed up till 3:00 in the morning reading the papers in the envelope that Walker had given him earlier. In it was all the basic rules of being an Auror, such as what spells were legal to cast at all times and which ones could only be used on extreme occasions. Harry found it all very interesting and could have stayed up all night reading it but thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep. He set his alarm clock magically, being sure to set it for 7:30, half an hour before he was supposed to report in.  
  
He lay in bed unable to sleep, his thoughts drifting randomly. He wondered if his father had felt like this the day he'd become an Auror, excited and nervous. But the main thing that Harry felt was contentment. Something inside him knew that he was doing what he'd been born to do, and now that Ginny was ok with that too, Harry didn't see how things could be any better. Well, maybe if his parents were there...he tried to force that thought out of his mind, but no matter how hard he tried he kept seeing images of his parent's faces when he told them he'd become an Auror. His mother was crying happily and his father was just smiling as if he'd never been so proud of anything in his whole life.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
A/N: Short, I know but at least I got it up quicky, unlike the last one!  
  
~Katydid 


	21. The End

Ok, please don't be mad at me, but this is the end of this story for now. I was planning to continue it but I just don't have enough time or ideas right now. If enough people want me to then I will write a sequel when school lets out for the summer and I have more free time. Also if anyone has any ideas or suggestions for the next story I'd love to hear them! Ok well I'm really sorry to end in such a bad place, but I'll try to get to work on the sequel asap. Thanks SO much to everyone who reviewed, you have no idea how much I appreciate it! I had so much fun writing this story and it's mainly because of your encouragement. (  
  
~Katydid~ 


End file.
